5ive
by Furiouswind
Summary: The past haunted her, her present left doubts, and her future uncertain. She seeks to right her wrongs, to prove the worth of her existence and to find the truth of her bloodline. Cinque would bet it all to find the meaning of her life.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi to all readers! This is the very first fic I'm writing that is solely based off an anime/manga. I'm not used to writing fics for anime/manga as they tend to have a restrictive feel to me. I normally write game fics (since when you play the game, you feel as though you have control and thus able to come up with more ideas for stories), and thus i tend to have quite a bit of action.

This is a long AN, but if you really want to understand what the hell i'm going on about, it is best for you to read it (ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO WISH TO SHOUT AT ME)

Alright, right off the bat, but i am on of those people who believe that Nanoha and Fate are NOT lesbians (while the about 90% of the fan base believes/wants it to be so, i'll follow what the original writers want, yes, the original writers had placed MANY and MULTIPLE hints that Nanoha and Yuuno do have feelings for each other, but i would NOT go into that debate this time, so don't go telling me crap). You don't like that idea, then you wouldn't want to read my next fic i planned for this series. But this fic is focused on my favourite character in the Nanoha universe, Cinque Nakajima. No, i'm not a lolicon. It is just that Cinque has quite a bit of qualities that i like (long white hair, eye patch, mature personality despite small size).

If you read my stories before (which i highly doubt), you would know that i absolutely **DETEST** flames. I made that caps and bold and underline. If i still get flames, then someone must really have selective reading skills...

I do NOT speak German, and so relied on very crude translation bots. If you speak German and see problems in my words later on, you can tell me that i got it wrong. But please try to be as constructive as well (don't go shouting to my face that my translation is wrong. Tell me what can used instead)

REMEMBER, this fic is focused on CINQUE, not Nanoha. Nanoha will play an important role, since (and i agree with) one of the original makers of Nanoha had said that if Nanoha wasn't in it, you couldn't really call it a 'Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha' story'. While i wrote about Nanoha, i forgot to include Hayate and Fate. But they are mentioned later on.

There was a HUGE problem when i was writing this midway. I follow the Nanoha tradtion of naming all of my OCs after cars, however the main OC had the same surname/last name as Touma Avenir (main character from Nanoha Force). Yes, i used Avenir. I only realized it after awhile and it was too late to change the story... so i edited it to fit into the Nanoha universe. Don't shout at me if anything sounds weird.

This fic takes place shortly after Vivid (I know that the manga isn't done, so i'm basing off assumptions here)

Terminology:

Cinque uses respectful terms to call her family (she also has a sweet tooth as Genya said in the Sound Stage)

-Ane-ue = older sister (respectful formal)

-Chichi-ue = father (respectful formal)

Ginga just uses simple terms. Nove and Dieci also use this form.

-Otou-sama/san = father (semi-formal but the way they say it makes it more informal)

As a side note, Wendi calls Genya 'Papa-rin' (if you watched the anime seitokai no ichizon, you would recognize this... bet SOMEONE is feeling envious)

* * *

I took a lot inspiration from doujins that have been littered about the net. The one i like the most (and i took a lot of material from) is the 'Nano' series. It is a bunch of 4-koma gag comics that are EXTREMELY funny. You guys should find it and read it. Just google Nanoha doujin Nano and you'll eventually find it. I'm also using a lot of fan-based titles and personality traits. If you're a big fan, you'll know it when you see it.

As for that, i'll open up with a short Omake... taken from a doujin artist, it is a good way to start this fic (though i'm tweaking it in my own way):

Cinque: What? I- i can't be a magical girl (read as main girl)!

FW(me): Why not? It suits you.

Cinque: W-well... i'm not tall (she is very concerned and touchy about her height)... i'm not pretty, and i only have one eye.

FW: What? Nonsense! you're pretty enough! I guarantee it!

Cinque: B-but! I'm already 20! I can't be a magical girl-

Nanoha's hand grips onto Cinque's head like a strong vice. A murderous aura flowing out from the white devil of the TSAB.

Nanoha: _Hmmm~? Did i hear you say something about **BEING TOO OLD**, Cinque-chaaaan?_

Cinque: ... N-no...

FW: ... i should have warned her...

* * *

_Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha_

_5ive_

_chapter 1_

**What a Family is**

She lifted the large bag up and placed it onto the counter. It was hard for her size, but she still liked to do small things like these. She wasted no time, reaching into the bag she just placed onto the table counter, and taking out a small box. Looking at it, she simply smiled. Next was to boil water. Putting the kettle on, she opened the small box, pulling out a small bag of tea leaves. Preparing good tea was something she liked to do, mainly for the reason she likes tea. While she was preparing the tea pot, her mind slowly wandered onto other things. After all, preparing a pot of tea was something she had done almost every single day that she doesn't even register it as an action, but merely as routine to her as breathing.

Her mind went back to just a few years ago, where the infamous end of a mad scientist made her life change forever. The mad man in question, was sort of her father. She created her, to be precise. She and eleven of her sisters. Built as combat cyborgs, they were known as the 'Numbers'. Yes, they were the enemy of the TSAB of Mid-childa. They represented evil and chaos. They nearly destroyed the world. Yet they managed to find salvation. At least some of them.

In the war against the TSAB, they lost one sister, Due. Killed after completing her objective of assassination. Uno, the first sister, Tre, the third sister, Quattro, the fourth (though in terms of age, fifth), and Sette, the designated number seven, were locked up in prison together with their father, Jail Scaglietti, the mad man. But she wasn't all upset that her family was locked up. She and the other sisters found new places where they could fit in.

Sein, the number six, became a church Knight, though how she actually manages to complete her duties as a Knight is quite puzzling. Well, she wanted to do it of her own volition. The twins Otto, number eight, and Deed, number twelve, had gone off to live on their own, though they were technically under the authority of the Church, and they were usually seen in places like parks and museums. They were the quiet duo who rarely spoke. And from time to time, they would pop by over to have a chat, or go over to the church to offer help as volunteers.

That left Nove, number nine, Wendi, number eleven, and Dieci, number ten. They were adopted into the family of their former enemy, the Nakajimas. Subaru and Ginga Nakajima were the prototype combat cyborgs whom the 'Numbers' were based off from, and they were called 'type-zero'. They were 'rescued' from their lab many years ago and adopted into the Nakajima family. Now three of the numbers were adopted into the family as well. Oh wait, one more. Herself.

"Cinque, are you making tea?"

She turned in response to her name, and saw Ginga standing there, taking off her military jacket. That's right, she's Cinque. The fifth combat cyborg, though technically born as the fourth. She is the eldest of the 'free' Numbers, and constantly looks after her younger sisters. It was noted that the Numbers in jail were born with the doctor's genes within them, and they were dead loyal the their father. Sette was an exception, since she did not have the doctor's genes, but due in part to her design, she was sent to jail. Cinque managed to get a deal where Sette would be allowed to be retrained to reintegrate back into society. The other numbers, herself included, were not extremely loyal, which allowed them to be released.

"Yes, would you like some tea, ane-ue?"

She offered. Ginga smiled and nodded.

"Sure. It was a tough day at work."

Ginga walked over to the counter, and spotted the large brown bag. She looked inside and took out certain food items.

"You did groceries by yourself? You could have waited till either I or otou-sama returned."

"I wanted tea, so I thought of doing the groceries as well."

"I see. Well, do you have the receipt? I'll get otou-sama to reimburse you."

"It's not that much."

"You paid with your pay-check, right? Weren't you planning to get something for Nove's birthday?"

She winced at that. In her rather mad desperation for tea, she completely forgot. Ginga seemed to get the message, and giggled, patting the shorter cyborg on the head.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure otou-sama pays you back. Oh yes, since you left early, you missed out on this report. You need to hand it in to your superior tomorrow."

Ginga pulled out a screen in the air, displaying a whole report. Cinque glanced over to the report, while pouring the hot water into the kettle.

"Ah, is that about the Territorial war? They were saying something about 'demons' attacking them."

"It might not all be unfounded."

Ginga closed the screen as Cinque poured two cups of tea. Ginga settled on a bar chair by the counter, while Cinque had to quite literally climb onto the chair. Ginga looked at Cinque's rather tedious endeavour with some thoughts, and she finally decided to voice one of them.

"Don't you think it would be better to get your body modified? There are some very good engineers and doctors who specialize in cyborg repair and modifications."

Cinque smiled politely and shook her head.

"This body is quite sufficient. For one, it helps me with infiltration missions. Two, it is easier to move about in dangerous situations. Three, it can help me get discounts."

Ginga had to pause to think about that third reason.

"And lastly... this is the body my father gave to me. Though he may be a criminal, this is the body i was born into. Denying it would be denying myself. Besides, i'm a criminal myself. This is a sinner's body, and it is why i will continue to live in this body, to carry the weight of my sins."

Cinque stared into her tea. Staring at her own reflection, she could not help but feel rather literal with her words. Her right eye was damaged beyond healing or repair, leaving her handicapped. That was many years ago, against a Belkan knight called Zest. Zest was a brave warrior, and fought to protect his comrades, namely Ginga and Subaru's mother, and Lutecia's mother. Cinque lost her right eye and covered it up with a black eye patch ever since. A sinner's body indeed.

"You're bearing alot for such a small body though."

"Maybe..."

* * *

That night, the entire Nakajima family gathered in the living room, watching a television variety show. Genya Nakajima, being the man of the house, had decided that weekend nights, the time when most of the family gets time off, would be spent as family nights. And it was also decreed that certain nights they would watch variety shows taken from channels from Non-administrated Planet 97, Earth. For some odd reason, Genya liked them. Wendi was, as usual, grabbing Nove and making the latter pissed. Subaru had just returned from her job as a special disaster management rescue elite member, and she had a certain smell of burnt rubber about her. Though Subaru has her own place, she tended to come over from time to time to check up on the rest of the family. Nove had sent her immediately to take a shower to cover the smell.

Nove and Subaru were very similar due in part that Nove was actually designed from the Type Zero prototype, which was Subaru, having near identical facial structures and similar voices, though their personalities were worlds apart. Subaru was friendly, warm and open to everyone whilst Nove was more hostile and easily provoked. Still, the sisters all got along very well and they often relied on each other for many things. However it wasn't always like that. When they were enemies, Nove had always tried to tackle Subaru, due to the fact that during the war, Subaru, who was mere rookies back then, had managed to damage Cinque to the point where the older cyborg was crippled, and unable to participate in the final battle.

Maybe if Cinque was present, the battle would have been different, certainly harder for the TSAB, namely the Riot 6 members, to accomplish their goals. Cinque had been praised by Jail as a cyborg who could stand toe-to-toe with an over-S rank mage. Though probably exaggerated, Cinque was certainly no pushover. Working with Ginga as a front-line mage, Cinque had seen quite a number of conflicts in the years she began working for the TSAB. And in most of those battles, Cinque had proven herself countless number of times, taking charge of troops, rushing over target positions in record speeds.

She had infiltrated enemy camps, taking out enemy commanders and slipping out unnoticed. By right, Cinque should have gotten a couple of medals, but due to her status as a war criminal, even gaining the trust of her superiors was a hard issue. Cinque didn't actually want her sisters, Nove, Wendi, and Dieci, to enter the TSAB military, but certain circumstances prevented that. Nove was dead loyal to Cinque, and followed anyway. Wendi, with nothing better to do, went along as well. Dieci had somehow signed up without anyone noticing till she appeared on the front-lines.

Nove, Wendi and Dieci worked together with the emergency response rescue squadron, and also working at times with the 108 battalion, meaning they often worked with Subaru and Genya. Cinque wanted her sisters to get a proper education, since the other sisters, Otto, Deed, and Sein, were all getting an education from the church. Nove flat out refused to if Cinque wasn't going for it. Wendi, on the other hand, simply waved it off as being too bothersome. Cinque looked up from her report to the commotion at the coffee table. Nove was threatening to send Wendi flying out of a window if the latter didn't stop bothering her.

"Nove, you shouldn't treat your sister like that."

Subaru stated, drying her hair with a towel as she walked towards the refrigerator. Subaru pulled out a bottle of milk and drank it without waiting.

"Shut up, i don't want to hear that from you! And why are you here when you have your own place? You're practically draining our food supplies!"

Nove shot back, and Subaru simply smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of her head in an apologetic manner. It was true, however, that out of the entire family Subaru had the largest, if not monstrous appetite. Teana once told Cinque that during the Ixpellia case, Teana stayed over at Subaru's place and was surprised that Subaru ordered CRATES of food from catering services. Not boxes, CRATES.

"Nove, Subaru is your older sister. You need to treat her as such. Besides, we're family, and she is welcomed back anytime."

Cinque reminded her younger sister as she reached over to the side table and took her cup of tea. From her position on the sofa to the table, it was quite the reach. Nove gave Cinque a puppy eyed look in attempt to draw some sympathy, though Cinque was someone who would never budge when it would come to her family members.

"Don't give me that, Nove. I'm not going to fall for that this time."

Nove hung her head low, unable to get out of this one. Cinque had already told her multiple times, but Nove was someone who could not change her habits easily. And though she doesn't feel like punching Subaru's lights out, she still doesn't have the habit of addressing Subaru as 'onee-san'. Well, in Nove's defence, no one but Cinque actually calls the older of the Nakajima sisters as an older sister. It was due to Cinque's rather unique personality, somewhat owing to her original donor of genetic material. Cinque never knew her original donor, but it could be said that she felt certain dispositions at times that really never made any sense.

Cinque had worked with Ginga on the front-lines on numerous occasions, and they trusted each other for support. Such work had made Cinque close to Ginga, and being the eldest of the 'free' numbers, Cinque felt that she was responsible for all of the other numbers, and had to work hard to support her sisters. Even if it meant sucking up to superiors. Cinque had also found the idea of having a stable family life style was something she had been missing out, and tried hard to fit in. Actually, more than trying hard, Cinque had to easiest time, next to Wendi, to ease into her life of relative comfort. Nove, of course, had to try to reconcile with Subaru and Teana, and while Subaru and Teana, more of Subaru actually, were quite happy to be friends, Nove was still uncomfortable with the entire arrangement for a whole two month period.

Now they go on shopping trips, exchange some fashion tips, and sometimes Nove and Subaru stay up late playing games in Subaru's apartment, since Ginga would normally scold them if they were caught playing in the living room. Wendi would sometimes join them in their fun, though Wendi sleeps early, and tires out very easily. Dieci, the quiet one of the family, just goes around reading and doing the housework. Maybe doing a sketch or two but she still prefers doing housework.

"Now now, it's been awhile since we all got together. Why not we all go out for dinner for a change?"

Ginga suggested heartily. Everyone immediately lit up and agreed, though Genya was a different story.

"But my show!"

"Otou-sama, you can watch your shows anytime. It's been awhile since we went out."

Ginga smiled her usual 'you-don't-want-to-piss-me-off' look at her own father, before grabbing him by the collar and pulling him away. The Nakajima family went out of the house happily, while dragging a rather sad, and crying Genya along. Of course, Genya was to pay for the dinner.

* * *

A/N: In the doujins, i'm bringing out how Ginga really acts like the disciplinary force in the family. Note that in the Nakajima family, Dieci is the one mainly in charge of housework. Ginga would help out as well if she has time. The entire family is meant to have a rotational schedule for housework, but Dieci likes doing it. Cinque also helps out in the kitchen from time to time, and in the sound stage, Teana wondered how Cinque would be able to reach the counters and shelves with her height. Subaru replied that Genya made (yes, he made) two step up platforms for Cinque to use (Subaru also said that they were Cinque's new 'treasure'). In the doujin the artist joked about it and changed it to Genya making a pair of tall platform boots.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: To tell you the truth, this story didn't actually come to me until i was writing another fic for the Nanoha universe. The other fic was the original one that i wanted to put up, but it occurred to me that i needed to explain the background of that fic. And i also wanted to do a fic with Cinque involved. So this one came out as a result.

* * *

Omake (because we know you want one):

Cinque: What is with this dress?

FW: Hm? Since you're going to be a magical girl, you have to look the part

Cinque: But what is with this frilly dress?

FW: ... Cinque, i know you like the dress suits, and i like them too... but magical girls have to have a certain type of uniform. I mean, look at Nanoha.

Points to where Nanoha was testing out a new giant cannon the size of a truck, looking more like cyborg than Cinque with all of the wires and gadgets attached to her. Nanoha's cannon blasted at the testers and they were all sent flying. You could see their smiling faces as they soon became mere stars in the sky.

FW: ... so that's what she meant by everyone in her unit loves to fly... anyway, to be a mahou shoujo (read as demonic cannon girl, this one you need to know the Kanji for magical girl and demonic cannon girl are different but sound exactly the same) you need to have a certain uniform.

Cinque: ... Must it be this colour?

FW: I didn't decide that.

* * *

_Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha_

_5ive_

_chapter 2_

**Gears in Motion**

Scratching her head, the tiny combat cyborg tried to wrap her mind around the report that was on the screen before her. No matter how many times she read the report, it never made sense. She leaned back in her chair, looking out of her cubicle to others around her. But no one was there. Strange. She looked at her clock. Noon. Lunch break. Figures. Normally, she would be too wrapped up with her work that she would lose track of time. But Ginga would usually be there to remind Cinque that it was lunch. Maybe Ginga was busy this time. Still, for her not to notice that her co-workers had already gone off for lunch, she must be losing her touch.

Cinque Nakajima got up from her chair, and headed for the cafeteria. She had handed in her last report to her superiors just now, so they shouldn't be bothering her. Although Cinque, Nove, Wendi, and Dieci were under the 108th battalion, meaning Genya Nakajima was their overall boss, they each worked under a different section of the battalion. Cinque was closer to Ginga and Genya in work than the others, meaning Ginga usually grabs Cinque and go for a meal. Genya would be there too if he wasn't busy.

Looking back at her life in the Mid-childa military, Cinque had to admit that she quite enjoyed her life so far. That made her wonder about her previous choice to destroy it. She was working for her creator, Jail Scaglietti, and so she didn't really have a choice. But did she? She sometimes wondered about her time working under the doctor. The things she had done, the lives she had destroyed. It was haunting her, the flames, the screams of people. How could she forgive herself?

"Hey, Cinque! Want to join us?"

A voice jolted her out of her painful thoughts. Without realizing it, she had walked all the way to the cafeteria. A table at one end had a hand sticking out from the crowd, waving at her. She walked over to the table, and saw that the hand belonged to a member of her squad. The table sat four individuals, each being Cinque's co-worker and they fought beside her before.

"You looked bummed out. Is something bothering you? Maybe it's because Master Sergeant Nakajima isn't here?"

One of the guys asked. Cinque shook her head, not really wanting to bother them with her worries.

"It's nothing."

"Oh, i bet it's about the captain, isn't it? What, did he toss you more work?"

"No... you're guessing a lot, sergeant Gazelle."

Gazelle laughed at that, making some people look his way.

"Oi, you're laughing too hard. Everyone's looking this way."

"Oh come on, Vanette, you're way too serious. Got to learn to lighten up."

Vanette sighed, shaking her head in dismay. That was when she noticed Cinque was still standing.

"Cinque, take a seat. Or were you about to grab something?"

"Oh yeah... just wondered what's for lunch."

The cyborg looked over to the food area, though the crowd was making it hard for her to look at the food directly.

"Today's menu is soup, with salad and pie."

The second woman at the table spoke a monotonous voice.

"You make it sound boring, R'nessa. you should spice it up a bit."

Gazelle suggested.

"And what would you suggest?"

Vanette looked to Gazelle, who shrugged.

"I don't know... maybe like 'lovely cream of sliced roasted chicken, with freshly made greens, and a sirloin beef pie'. Sounds better, doesn't it?"

"Sounds disgusting, especially when you're the one saying it."

The group laughed at that, and while Cinque did enjoy the company of others, she still felt detached. Each of these members had joined the military for their own reasons, and most of them were along the lines of protecting their loved ones. No one entered the military just for the heck of it. Some do, but those never lasted long, especially with people like Takamichi Nanoha in the instructor corps. The 'white devil', as some began to call her. Cinque could certainly agree with that. Nanoha was certainly a 'devil' as an enemy.

"Hey, Cinque, you listening?"

Gazelle's voice brought Cinque's mind back to the table.

"Sorry... just remembering something."

"Oh? Like?"

"... Just how Nanoha got her nickname."

The moment she said that, the table went silent. Fear. She could smell fear from them. Well, there was also admiration, but Cinque must have triggered a bad memory for them.

"That's right, you didn't go through her training regime... It was hell... most of us got shipped to hospital twice a week."

Gazelle shivered as the memory came back to him.

"I still can't believe you're close to those legendary mages... Captain Takamichi Nanoha, Ace of aces of the aerial division, super 'white devil' of the training corps. Special Investigator Fate T. Harlown, also well known for cracking multiple cases across worlds. Major Hayate Yagami, founder of the riot six force that stopped the Jail Scaglietti case. Speaking of which, you were involved in that case, right?"

Vanette asked. Cinque never really told anyone about her involvement in the Jail Scaglietti incident, since she never wanted to stand out. But it was on her record that she was a criminal. The higher-ups all knew about it, but she guessed no one bothered to tell the lower ranks that they have war criminals who nearly destroyed the world working beside them.

"I was only involved slightly. I didn't do anything."

Half true. She was involved only for a short moment in a battle against the legendary mages, but Subaru blasted her away, crippling her and forcing her to be unable to participate in the final battle. In a way, she ended up doing almost nothing.

"Hmm, so you saw them fight?"

"Not really. I only saw Subaru fight."

"Oh? You mean the major's daughter? Oh wait, you're part of the Nakajima family too. So your sisters were in the war, and you weren't?"

"That's why i joined. Can't let them run off into danger all the time."

Cinque smiled at that, and the four at the table laughed.

"True, how true."

Cinque could not help but feel as though those words were ringing all too true for her.

* * *

The guard could only stare at the blade that had sunk into his chest. He did not know what to feel. He did not know what to think. But it may no difference. His mind blanked out and darkness swallowed him as the blade was pulled out, dropping his corpse onto the floor. The figure carrying the blade walked over to the door sealed with metal, electrical locks, and even magical seals. Such a pitiful state.

"... Jail Scaglietti. Your release date has been moved forward."

A chuckle echoed from within the cell.

"And just about time, too. I was beginning to feel rather bored staring at the same walls over and over."

The figure waved a hand over the locks, and everything just disabled themselves, the door swinging open, as a thin man walked out. His maniacal looks burning as fierce as before.

"... So what do you plan to do first?"

"I would like to pay back those who put me in here in kind... but first, i have some traitors to deal with."

* * *

"Cinque... Cinque!"

She looked up at the call of her name, and saw that Ginga was leaning over her cubicle with a strange smile on her face.

"Ane-ue, you surprised me."

"Really? You don't look surprised."

Ginga replied cheerfully. Cinque smiled, before turning her attention back to her screen. She was about halfway through her report on the previous week's case that involved those so-called 'demons'. No evidence was found of any creature or third party. While Cinque would certainly like to poke around a little more, her direct superior decided to write it off as a case of hallucinations by drug addicts.

It was true that a certain illegal import from a non-administered world was getting more common, and the number of users have increased exponentially over the past few months. However these sort of illegal drug trafficking weren't part of her job description, resulting in her superior passing the case to the right department. Still, Cinque felt unsatisfied with how it ended. Too many questionable sources. There was something else behind all of this.

"Are you almost done?"

Ginga asked. Cinque typed out a few more sentences and leaned back in her chair. For now, the report of complete. She sent it to her superior's inbox before turning off her terminal. She had also made a copy of the entire report and all of the sources since she figured that there were still things she could poke her nose around in.

"Ane-ue, do you mind if i borrow your terminal tomorrow?"

Cinque asked her old sister, who cocked her head sideways.

"I don't mind, but what do you need my terminal for?"

"You have access to some of the other records that are related to the case."

"I can simply give your terminal clearance though, so why do you need mine?"

"Well, officially i'm not suppose to touch this case anymore. But i can't help but feel as though something is missing. I would like to find out the truth to put my fears down."

Ginga rubbed her chin in thought for the moment, before nodding.

"Sure, i can let you use it tomorrow. Ah, but didn't you have that training exercise tomorrow? If i'm not wrong, Nanoha-san if coming over."

Cinque nodded, not forgetting her schedule, but she could always accomplish both. Her superior had asked for some additional training exercises for the department, saying that due to the previous week's shoot-out by the storage bay area with some smugglers, their skills were all lacking. Cinque herself wasn't present during that particular event, being pulled by Ginga to investigate a separate case. Some people, including her own superior, had wondered why wasn't assigned directly under Ginga or Genya, since they were all family, not to mention Ginga constantly dragging Cinque away from her squadron.

However Cinque was the one who had asked to posted further down in the departments. She told Ginga that she felt more at ease doing hard physical work with the dirt and grim than sorting out paperwork. And so she was eventually posted to her current squad, with a fierce and strict captain Dino Berlinetta incharge. Dino knows about Cinque's history, and though he did seem to rather picky about it on the surface, in truth he doesn't care. He simply assigns cases according to abilities and attitudes.

In Cinque's case, she has a mage rank of AA, one of the highest in the entire battalion, and she was more than willing to take on any case. Dino's mage rank was only A+, which made him ordering around a mage who was stronger than he was slightly awkward. Or at least in his perspective. The training exercise was aimed at the other members of the squad, most who were only C ranked.

For Cinque, Nanoha had set up a training regime that was normally administered for officers, since officers usually had B ranks or higher. Cinque's official rank in the battalion was an enforcer, working close to Ginga most of the time, but with her station being constantly at the front-lines, her training exercises were slightly different from the normal officers training. Cinque's training actually involved facing off against Nanoha. Which wasn't exactly a pretty picture. Nanoha did not engage actively in combat, but used various shooting techniques and search probes for Cinque to practice on. Still, it was a very tiring exercise that even Dino didn't want to use.

"Maybe i should join in with the exercise training too."

Ginga wondered, with a slight hint of her looking down at her waist. Diet?

"I don't think you should. Nanoha's training is rather... tough."

"I know, i participated in one of her training sessions when Riot 6 was still active."

Cinque remembered Ginga telling her that story, of how the captains and vice captains of both Lightning and Stars squad faced off with all four forwards plus Ginga. And story ended with the complete and utter defeat of the forwards.

"Since your Blitz Calibre is similar to Nove's Jet, why not ask her to let you train with her?"

"Ah, i'm not very good at Strike Arts. I'm more of a Shooting Arts person, so Nanoha-san is the perfect person to ask to teach me... or i hope she is. Anyway, Nove is busy coaching Vivio and Einhart. I can't ask her to take more time off from her work."

Ginga replied, rejecting the offer rather frantically. Cinque knew that Ginga was more used to Shooting Arts, though she had potential for Strike Arts.

"N2R doesn't have any jobs or deployments recently, so i think Nove is rather free. But i don't think you need to do any training exercises. Just helping chichi-ue is tiring enough, i think."

At that, Ginga sighed, shaking her head and being slightly irritated. Mainly because what Cinque said was true and certain unwanted memories were resurfacing back in Ginga's mind. Cinque was sure she heard a nerve pop. Yes, heard it pop.

"That lazy good-for-nothing father. Always skipping meetings for drinks, then he has the nerve to keep pestering Hayate-san for shougi and tea! Can't he see that Hayate-san is already at an important position?"

Ginga was starting to crack her knuckles at this point. Cinque thought it would be best to drop the topic for now.

"Erm... shall we go? I'm sure the others are waiting for us to get home to start dinner."

At that, Ginga's intense atmosphere suddenly dropped, her scowl turning into a smile almost in an instant.

"Yes, let's go. Ah, tonight's sukiyaki! I forgot to go grab ingredients!"

Cinque smiled, getting to her feet and accompanying Ginga towards the garage.

"I'm sure Dieci and the others have gone to get them."

"Hmm... i hope so."

* * *

He took the weapon in his hand, inspecting it gleefully. It was shaped like a glove, not unlike his previous device. But this was different, far superior. He looked over to the figure standing in the shadows of the warehouse where they were in. The figure wore a cloak, covering the body and face. He had no doubt that the voice was distorted using some device. For now, he simply referred the figure as 'F'. For some reason, it reminded him of his halted project. He looked over to where tree of his combat cyborgs were, looking at their new weapons. Although Uno was a support type cyborg, she too was handed a weapon that resembled a bracelet. Tre took twin swords and Quattro took a ring type weapon. Tre looked at her weapons with a little confusion in her eyes.

"I'm not sure i'm suited for this. This style is more suited for Deed."

"Hmph, that traitor would never be able to use such grand make of a weapon."

Quattro snorted. He noted that among his three combat cyborgs who still followed him, Quattro was the only one who held a strong spite for the free Numbers. He, himself, did not hold that much of a grudge against his own creations who joined his enemies. But he knew that they would be one of the largest obstacle blocking him from his goal. Forget the cradle, he had a new plan, and this F person had given him the map to it. He turned to his mysterious benefactor, seeing the cloak figure apparently fidgeting with something under that cloak.

"These devices are wonderful, but do tell me. Why help us?"

The figure looked at him, the fidgeting stopped.

"It is for our own interest. I have no obligation to tell you more than that."

"Why you-"

Quattro pointed her ring to the figure, but he stopped her before she could do anything brash to their benefactor.

"Doctor!"

"Now now, Quattro, you shouldn't go around using weapons against the people who gave it to you."

"Yes doctor."

The figure seemed to find this amusing, as evident from the slight chuckle.

"Is something funny?"

He asked.

"... It is ironic coming from you, that is all."

"If you are referring to the fact that it was the TSAB who created me, yet i am the one who nearly destroyed them, i'll just say that i've paid my dues in full. I don't owe them anything."

"And that is true... Come, i'll show you to your new hideout."

The figure turned and left the warehouse. He sighed, shaking his head, before turning to his three followers.

"Well then, shall we go?"

"Should we really trust that person? This could just be another set-up."

Tre cautioned, and her suspicions were well founded. Ordinarily he wouldn't trust such a mysterious person. But when opportunity arises, he would be the first to take it.

"If it is a trap, then all the more we have to walk towards it. After all, with such a welcome mat, how can we refuse?"

Tre seemed a little surprised at first by his reply, but smiled.

"As you say, Doctor. But there is some place i wish to go before we go."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: An embarrassing note, i actually spelt Nanoha's last name, Takamachi, as Takamichi. I realized my mistake when i was finishing up the fic and had to go back to change everything. Nanoha is going to kill me.

* * *

Omake (based off the sound stage of StrikerS and the doujin Nano once again i'm twisting it):

Gazelle: I thought i told you not to tell anyone!

Vanette: Oops, sorry! I just couldn't help it.

Gazelle: Why you litte-

Nanoha spots them arguing

Nanoha: Hmm? What's going on?

Ginga: Oh, it's about Gazelle's past. It's been getting popular amongst the young ones.

Nanoha: ...

Nanoha suddenly appears sulking and drawing circles in the floor in a dark corner

Nanoha: I- i see... so i'm no longer considered young.

Ginga: Ah-ah! Y-you're still very young, Nanoha-san!

FW: Don't carelessly use the word 'young' around the ace of aces.

* * *

_Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha_

_5ive_

_chapter 3_

**Facing the Devil**

Throwing her stringer knives at the incoming magic missile, Cinque managed to dodge the immediate danger as she threw herself into the alley way of the training grounds. She leaned against wall, using the short break to catch her breath. However her break was short-lived. Sensing danger, she looked up, and saw a pink orb of light floating above her. She'd been spotted. She rolled over just as a magic missile impacted into her last position. As usual, this training was harsh. She grabbed onto one of her stingers and stabbed it with all of her might into the wall before she turned around and ducked as her stinger exploded, leaving a hole large enough for her to get through.

Crawling through, Cinque re-evaluated her current situation. Her training with the Ace of Aces, Takamachi Nanoha had already reached the ten minute mark. The limit was thirty minutes. Her objective was to get past Nanoha's probes and missiles and reach Nanoha. Nanoha had fifteen probes looking for her, and Cinque had dealt with three. She turned around, and saw that the same probe who spotted her before had entered the same hole she crawled through. She turned and ran through the training building. She turned around one corner and summoned ten of her stingers. She fired the knives along the walls as she ran down the hallway.

The probe turned the corner to follow her, but her stingers detonated, causing the probe to explode, as well as the entire hallway to collapse. As usual, bad judgement on Cinque's part as she found herself running away from the crumbling ceiling. Spotting a window, she jumped through, curling her body into a ball as she smashed through the window. Rolling across the dirt as she hit the ground, Cinque scrambled to her feet.

Fourth probe down, another eleven. She did not have time to waste, hurrying along the path whilst using the shadows of the buildings to prevent herself from being spotted easily. Peering around a corner, she spotted a probe hovering in place. It hadn't seen her yet, and from the way it is positioned, Cinque guessed it must be a sentry type, placed in a key position to act as a look out.

"... As expected of the ace of aces."

Cinque mused to herself. Nanoha must be close. However Cinque cannot use this route. Destroying this sentry probe would only alert Nanoha to where Cinque would be. But there was a way around this. Knowing this good defensive strategy that Nanoha frequently used, Cinque deduced that these sentry probes were probably stationed in a ring formation around the caster. It was a basic formation but it was effective. A flaw that Cinque could exploit, was the fact that once a probe was destroyed, the caster would automatically assume an attack from that direction. Cinque spotted a ventilation hole in the building that the probe was next to. This could work.

* * *

Takamachi Nanoha, also known as the ace of aces, one of the three trump cards of the TSAB, and the white devil, was quite eager with this training session. For one, Nanoha rarely got to see some members Nakajima family, especially Cinque. Because Nove is Vivio's coach of sorts, Nanoha sees the fifth child of the Nakajima's regularly. Nove sometimes stays over for a meal or two as well. However Cinque and Ginga were rarely around. Ginga was the one who worked extra hard since their father was usually gone from his desk.

As for Cinque, Nanoha had heard that the second daughter of the Nakajima family was often out on cases. In comparison with the rest of the family, Cinque hardly meets up with Nanoha. The young ace meets Subaru quite often these days due to the latter's need of more intense training sessions. Nanoha did find it odd that Subaru didn't use the normal training regimes set by her own department, but Nanoha was always glad to help out. Dieci and Wendi also happened to pop by every so often with Nove, and the three would also request for sessions with Nanoha.

The N2R team, as they called themselves, were quite effective as an emergency response team, and Nanoha found that they were able to use much of her techniques and strategies that she planned out for them. Coming back to Cinque, Nanoha felt quite excited for another reason. She had not seen Cinque fight often, and each time Nanoha does a training session with Cinque, she always pleasantly surprised by how the latter is capable of executing complex strategies. Cinque is small and has a weaker frame than her sisters, yet in return she has one of the most cunning strategies that worked well in her favour.

It was perhaps due to her nature as one of the earliest to be born amongst her sisters, and also as one of the leaders of the Numbers back during the JS case that she was able to produce such amazing results. Nanoha could not wait to analyse the data from this mock battle and think up of more strategies and techniques to train with Cinque. The thought of that just made her shaking with excitement. So far, Cinque had done extremely well. Nanoha had relentlessly chased after the cyborg for a full ten minutes, and Cinque managed to get rid of four probes within that time frame whilst dodging around seventy missiles in total.

But after the fourth probe went out, Nanoha lost sight of Cinque. Now what was that girl planning to do? Nanoha thought of different scenarios, each playing out in full detail in her mind. Nanoha was, at the moment, a crazed military addict who found extreme joy in this mock battle. That also meant that she was letting down her guard in her giddiness of excitement, a lot.

"Now where would you come from, Cinque-chan..."

Nanoha looked through the screens of her look out probes. Each were still guarding their specific area. A rough ring formation with a slight gap at one end. Nanoha left that gap on purpose, seeing if Cinque would try to take advantage of it. It was, obviously, a trap since Nanoha had stationed two probes right after that gap and poised five of her magic missiles in that direction.

Though it may be a trap, Nanoha found that a lot of trainees would still try to go for it in desperation. But would Cinque fall for this? Nanoha's attention suddenly turned back to her probes. Five probes from different points all disappeared at the same time. She looked up, and saw smoke rising from those five points. Cinque was coming.

"Delayed explosions to mask which way she's coming from, 70 points... she's coming."

Nanoha recalled her remaining probes to form a tighter perimeter around herself. If there was one thing she knew about Cinque's style of fighting thus far, it was that Cinque was an expert at infiltration. No matter what sort of defences were in place, she would be able to find ways to get through. Even though Nanoha was hovering above the ground about three storeys up, she was sure that Cinque, a mage without aerial capabilities, would be able to find a way to reach her. Nanoha then noticed something. Littered all over the ground below her were certain objects that reflected glints from the sun.

"... ! Stingers-"

Nanoha barely had time to pull up her protection barrier as the ground literally exploded. The stingers that were planted caused a large amount of flying debris, and the sheer force from the explosion cause Nanoha to be slightly rattled. The smoke and dust from the explosion were covering the entire ground. Was she using this as a smoke screen? As a precaution, Nanoha sent ten of her magic missiles to rain down on the ground, causing slightly more damage to the already destroyed training grounds.

**BOOM**

Nanoha only managed to catch a glimpse of what happened from the corner of her eye. The wall of the third storey of the building she was next to exploded right next to her, and Cinque jumped out throwing a stinger at Nanoha.

_'Protection Powered'_

Nanoha's device, Raising Heart automatically brought up a barrier before Cinque's stinger could connect, but the knife still exploded, sending the ace retreating quite some distance away. Cinqe landed onto the training grounds floor, looking back up to check on Nanoha. The ace of aces was slightly rattled, but was still fine. Her barrier jacket had slight burnt marks on it. Nanoha was very surprised by how complex Cinque's strategies were, and how quickly they were executed.

Cinque must have planted those stingers onto the ground when Nanoha was looking at the direction of the earlier explosions that took out five of her sentry probes. That must have meant that Cinque had already gotten past the sentries when she detonated her stingers. But why waste the energy? Nanoha floated down to the training grounds floor to join up with Cinque, who had a rather apologetic look.

"A-are you alright?"

Cinque asked, clearly worried and stressed out about the entire thing. Nanoha looked at herself, and noticed that her barrier jacket was certainly burnt and torn. But nothing a good rest won't fix.

"I'm fine, Cinque-chan. Don't worry about it. I was quite surprised by the tactic you chose. If you got past my sentries, why did you still waste energy to blow them up?"

"Oh, it is common in some infiltration missions that you have create a diversion or distraction to let you slip past. I knew that even if i got past those sentries, escaping your detection would be near impossible. So i set off a delayed explosion on five points, and using that moment of distraction to plant a second distraction. The second set of explosions did slightly more than i expected, i didn't think you would use some of your shots to shoot the ground."

Cinque admitted. As Nanoha thought before, Cinque was very good at infiltration. However, for a mere infiltration, she sure is rather loud in her approach. Still, Cinque's reasons for them were well justified. If Cinque had not planted the second distraction, Nanoha would have been better prepared to defend and possibly retaliate Cinque's attacks. Nanoha cancelled her barrier jacket, as did Cinque.

"I didn't expect you to plan so far ahead, though. I'm impressed."

"Aha ha, it was only because i had to be very sure of my chance. Since it's Nanoha-san i'm facing, i have to bring out everything i have."

"You're pretty strong enough to face me without so much though. Let's discuss this more over lunch."

"Ah, yes."

* * *

Looking over the records, she still could not find the clue she needed. The different testimonies were all collected and all possible evidence were processed. But still something was missing. She pulled out another screen that depicted the scene with the highest concentration of 'sightings'. If she remembered correctly, that area was close to a sewage plant. Could there be toxic fumes being emitted from that place that caused hallucinations? The witnesses were mostly people who lived and worked in that area, and it seemed unlikely that all of them were drug users. Whatever was there, she needed to find it.

She leaned back in the chair, taking a break after pouring over all of the information for the past two hours. Nakajima Cinque felt like she was really pushing the limits of her body. In the morning she had a mock battle session with Takamachi Nanoha, and that was really pushing it. Cinque had exhausted nearly all of her energy reserves in that one mock battle alone, and now she may have to head over to the Clanagan medical centre to check up on her body's frame. She should give Mary a call to get an appointment done.

Nanoha had revised some tactics with Cinque over lunch, though the two mainly spent their lunch time chatting about other things, like how Vivio was doing, Cinque's work and about the other Numbers. After lunch, Nanoha had to return to her office, and so Cinque used the free time to use Ginga's terminal to continue her investigation. It seemed that Nanoha's training session proved a little too tough for Dino and the others in her department, so they were all given the afternoon off. That would be useful.

She looked up at the clock, noticing it was already getting late. Ginga had left earlier saying that there was something special she wanted to get for dinner. Cinque wasn't sure what that something special was exactly, but she sure hoped that her older sister didn't get lost. The last time Ginga went off to find 'something special', the eldest daughter of the Nakajima family ended up lost until Wendi found her. Cinque smiled back on that rather interesting memory. Ginga was surprisingly a ditz when she became too excited and lost her concentration.

"... Guess i'll go there then."

Cinque decided. Thinking of Ginga also reminded Cinque of one more person. Turning the terminal off, Cinque headed out of the building. Ginga wasn't here to give her ride, so she guessed she might as well take the public transport. The ride to her destination was rather uneventful, and in fact it was unusually empty. Usually around this time the transports would be packed with people getting home. Maybe something was going on that she didn't know about. Or maybe she was simply thinking too much about it. After a few more stops, she got off.

As usual, this place was quiet. A vast contrast compared to within the city. She walked down the rows of stone markers, silently wondering why she came here. It been some time since her last visit, having been made busy with work so often that she rarely manages to get time to help her sisters with N2R work. She stopped right before a certain marker. A grave for her deceased sister.

"... It's been awhile, Due."

Cinque knelt down by the grave stone, placing a single lily stalk in front of it. The previous JS event had taken the life that Cinque had known since her birth. And it took the life of a sister. Cinque did not really know why she came here, but a thought within her had somehow managed to convince her that her answers to the case could be found here. Answers to her case an perhaps something a little more.

"I wonder if things would have been different if i had been with you all in the final battle. I wonder what would have happened if the TSAB didn't have the kind people who accepted us even after what we did. Where would our lives be if the doctor hadn't guided us to war?"

Cinque had many thoughts, many doubts throughout her entire life. Under the doctor she questioned the validity of the war but did not go against the wishes of her creator. When she was captured and spared, she started to ask what was the purpose of her life, why were those who defeated her so forgiving, and for what reason was she still alive? For her sisters, perhaps. Striving to hard to support her family, to prove her worth in the TSAB and to finally earn her place. But was that really all there was? Working constantly made her forget it, but she still kept a single feeling within her.

Like a heavy weight pressed down upon her chest, this unknown and uncomfortable feeling that was nagging at her. She asked Mary at the Clanagan Institute about it, though she didn't manage to get a good answer. There was nothing wrong with her body, and there didn't seem to be any faults with her internal circuits. It was this feeling that made her uncertain, unsure.

Flashes of images of places she had never seen, or faces she never knew. Emotions that weren't hers, thoughts that intruded when they shouldn't be. But she did not show it. Not when she still worked under the doctor, not when she was kept in the rehabilitation centre, not when she was accepted into the Nakajima family, not when she worked on cases. Not ever. Perhaps only here, before the grave of her sister, that she would be able to admit it. To the world, and to herself.

"... Have i done enough? Have i made sure that the other girls have all found their places? Am i allowed to rest?"

"Not now. You have yet to cut the ties that bind you to the past."

That voice. Cinque turned around and saw a face that she never expected to see here. Tre. The older cyborg wore a set of casual clothes, a t-shirt that hung loosely on her right shoulder, a pair of jeans with sneakers and cap to cover her head. Cinque materialised three stingers in her hand but Tre raised a hand to stop Cinque, shaking her head.

"This isn't the place to fight. Not in front of Due."

Cinque hesitated, but complied with Tre, making her stingers disappear. But what Cinque wanted to know was-

"You wonder what am i doing here. The gears of fate have begun to turn, Cinque. The doctor and the rest of us are back. I will not attack you now out of respect for Due, and i will give you a warning. Though i do not know what the doctor is planning to do, what i do know is that his first target would be you and the rest of our sisters who turned over to our enemies."

"What? But-"

"I do not know why the doctor would do so, nor do i question it. I will warn you only this time, Cinque. If you want live, then run. Run as far as you can. The darkness will come."

"... And if we don't?"

Tre blinked a couple of times, before smiling.

"I thought as much. If there was one thing you refused to budge on, was the younger ones. Protecting them may be noble, Cinque, but this is why you cannot move on. You are constantly being held back. By your past, by your deeds, by your guilt. Do not waste your life, this is my last advice as an older sister."

Tre turned and left her alone by the grave. Cinque wanted to stop her, wanted to know why, why was the doctor and the others doing this? Was it because they chose to side with those who stopped them during the JS case? Was that the reason? But didn't they deserve to make their own decisions? Cinque could only clench her fists tightly till her nails drew blood from her palms. The questions that she wanted to ask would not form.

The darkness was beginning to loom over her. A fight against the doctor. Now wasn't the time to think about it. She knew what action to take. She wouldn't budge on on her decision. She will protect what she had earned. Her family, her friends, her place in Mid-childa. No matter who came, she will fight. The unwavering determination fuelled by bitter self-hate. She hated her useless self, her powerless state. She hated the decisions she made, but she would see through them no matter what.

"If it is a war you want, doctor... it is a war you will get."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you to those of you who read. And to 'Person With Many Aliases', I thank you for reviewing (and giving me a nice lecture too) I will make some changes, but I won't be using all of your tips. For one, yes, I agree that not capitalizing the 'I' when referring to oneself is a sign of laziness, but it isn't necessary when it comes down to this (I'm not writing to earn rewards, not writing to earn good grades or writing this to earn money. I'm writing because I want to, it's a hobby, it's FAN-FICTION for crying out loud). To be honest, I have read some novels that don't capitalize their 'I'. But then again, I am lazy to press that additional key and I don't have enough time to do a lot of editing (But I will change them as much as I can). I'm in my final stretch for University so I can only do this in my free time (which isn't a whole lot). If you're offering to be a beta reader, you're more than welcome to drop me an email and an application form together with a resume and donuts.

Good, now that I've lost my only reader, let's continue on.

* * *

_Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha_

_5ive_

_chapter 4_

**Demons**

In the Nakajima family, there was no one who was more concerned for Cinque than Nove. Nove Nakajima was a combat cyborg who was raised by the one eyed elder cyborg, resulting in the former holding great respect for the latter. Though it was rather puzzling as to why Nove's character ended up the way she did. Being raised by the calm and soft-hearted Cinque, as well as being based off the energetic and ever-smiling Subaru, Nove's character was best described as hot-headed and brash. She often headed into situations without much consideration for consequences, as clearly as her first encounter with Einhart.

She also had quite the foul temper and mouth to match. But if there was one thing good to talk about in terms of her character, was that no one cared more for her family's well-being as much as her. She easily becomes upset when Subaru goes off into dangerous situations (after the Marine Garden fire, Nove refused to talk or forgive Subaru for a week), makes a big fuss over Wendi's flamboyant nature made the youngest cyborg too trusting of strangers, and wondering if Sein is actually doing well with the Saint Church. And it is because Nove is so caring for her family, that she can tell when something is wrong.

The young cyborg constantly shifted her eyes to Cinque from her position on the sofa. The older Nakajima was seated at the dining table, sipping on some tea. But Nove could tell when something was wrong. For one, Cinque came back and was rather quiet throughout dinner. At first Nove dismissed it as simply being deep in thought, but when Cinque simply sat at the dining table drinking tea, rather than join the rest of the family watching another variety show, it really struck Nove as odd. Cinque treated Ginga and Genya with great respect, and she would not miss out on joining the entire family in these trivial, seemingly mindless activities.

Maybe it was work related stress? Nove remembered how Cinque had a case that she was trying to get through with. Maybe it was that? But it still bothered Nove. Something didn't feel right. Nove could not really explain it that well, but it was like a gut wrenching feeling that was tearing her from within. An unsettling feeling that told her that Cinque was facing a very troublesome time, that something was going to change. It was the same feeling before the final battle against the TSAB when she was still working for the doctor. Something was going to change, and Nove knew that it wasn't going to be as pleasant as the last time.

Cinque suddenly got up from her seat, and walked out of the room without anyone even turning a glance. It didn't seem unusual to the rest of the family, but Nove had kept her eye on the older cyborg, and felt that something was not right. She got up from her seat and stepped out of the room. The moment she stepped out into the hallway, she saw Cinque putting on her work boots. For Cinque to be going out this late must mean something very important, or dangerous.

The expertise of Cinque's infiltration techniques had often gotten her to work late nights. Still, Nove knew she needed to follow. Cinque stepped out of the house and closed the door behind her, all without noticing that Nove was watching. Nove clutched onto her device, certain that she would be needing to use it.

"Let's go, Jet. Cinque nee may be an infiltration expert, but I'm better at trailing people."

_'Alright.'_

* * *

Cinque did not want to do this, certainly not in this manner. But the doctor had forced her hand. The cards have been laid out, and it was time for her to show her hand. She headed towards the fifth district ward's warehouses, slowly taking her time as she walked in the quiet and dark streets of Cranagan. It was late in the night, so that was to be expected. Cinque had no real evidence that the doctor was at the fifth district, and to be honest she wouldn't know if he was still there. But the fifth district was where the 'demon' incidents had been occurring. She knew that it was more than a mere coincidence that this incident and the doctor's release were unrelated.

After a an hour, Cinque finally reached the fifth district ward. It was an unimpressive place, with some warehouses and chemical plants around. There were several troublesome cases that occurred in this district, which made Cinque wonder why hasn't the brass done anything about it yet. This place wasn't just a hotbed for illegal imports and dangerous people, but it also wasn't even administered by anyone. Each ward had their own administrative office and staff who monitored the area and helped to deal with any problems. It was only this area that didn't have anyone watching it.

Before the JS incident, the area was used by the TSAB brass to get their hands on unsanctioned and illegal things. Things that would normally be scorned at by the public, or would seem unethical could be brought in by smugglers for the right price. Thus the top of the TSAB had made a deal with criminals. The smugglers bring in what the brass wanted, and the brass would turn a blind eye to their activities to a certain extent. Cinque was disgusted by this piece of information, but thankfully it was old news.

The JS case had allowed those who sought justice to sweep aside the corrupted officials. Yagami Hayate was one of those who used her position and connections to the Saint Church and the three admirals to effectively demolish all of the corrupted officials who stood before her. Cinque read the report when she joined the TSAB, and to be honest, she was extremely frightened at what the meek-looking commander of the now dissolved Riot six was capable of doing. Although the officials were swept clean, handling the mess that was left behind was a slow and difficult job.

This area was completely abandoned by the bureau and has become a breeding ground for things worse than smugglers. Once every two months a division gets sent here to check on things, but that hardly changes anything as the number of criminals and smugglers just keeps increasing. This also means that this would be the perfect hiding place for the doctor and the three who escaped. Cinque had checked on Sette before heading back home, and the young cyborg was still in the rehabilitation centre.

This would mean that the orbital prison was the only place to be attacked. But since no alarms had been triggered down on the surface of Mid-Childa, Cinque could only assume that whoever released the doctor, must have done a lot of preparations. Infiltration and taking over the orbital prison. Either bribing the guards, or disguising their own to not raise any suspicions. Most of this was still speculation, however, as Cinque could neither confirm nor deny this theory with her limited access. She needed someone like Ginga to access the orbital prison with her.

But what she needed to do know wasn't to confirm if the orbital prison was attacked. What she needed to do know was to make sure the doctor and her three sisters do not disrupt the peace she and her younger sisters had found for themselves. She can find out the reasons and the person responsible later. Cinque had no delusions about her chances of taking on her three sisters and the doctor at one time. She had neither the strength nor the endurance for that. What she needed to do was take them out one at a time. The most dangerous in terms of combat was Tre. Quattro and Uno were more the intellectual than combat, but that did not mean they were harmless.

Uno had no fighting capabilities on her own, but since this was their territory, Cinque knew Uno could easily construct and manipulate any type of security defence system. Quattro had some battle prowess, but her forte lay in deception and analysing data. If Cinque were to be found out, Quattro would be able to get a strategy working instantly to get rid of her. As such, the first one to go should be her, followed by Tre, then Uno. Finally the doctor. Judging by the encounter with Tre, Cinque knew that the doctor had someone backing him.

One look at what Tre wore and her hidden weapons told Cinque that whoever it was backing the doctor, he had some very expensive toys to give out freely. Cinque stopped right outside the gates that led to the warehouses. All was quiet, as it had always been. The last time Cinque came here was only a few weeks back for the investigation of the 'demons', and it wasn't this quiet. There were usually the sounds of drunks, of smugglers arguing over prices, gangsters trying to get rid of 'evidence' or having some dispute. Not tonight. Tonight was too quiet, too calm. Cinque knew this was a bad sign from the get-go.

She spotted the electric lock by the side of the gate. Cinque walked up to it and touched the metal pad with her bare hand before stepped back. The lock sparked, then exploded, unlocking the gate for Cinque to enter. The warehouses were mostly abandoned and empty, as Cinque found out looking through each one. But there were fresh traces of activities in the area. There were people here not too long ago. Upon reaching one of the last warehouses, Cinque found what she had been looking for. It wasn't the doctor or the other three of her sisters, but it was close enough. Crates, though emtpy now, must have held some very large equipment. And prison clothes stashed aside in one of the crates. It was like they were left here to let Cinque know.

They were baiting her. Judging by the imprints left in the crates, Cinque guessed that there were several large computers and cylinder chambers. Probably to ensure that the three cyborgs are in top condition. There were also weapon crates. Weapons? But none of the cyborgs used shooting staves. So what were these for? Did the mysterious backer have an army to aid the doctor? If so, this would be way larger than Cinque could ever hope to face. She may need to call upon help. A piece of paper tucked away in-between two crates caught Cinque's eye, and she reached out to grab it. Snatching it, she unfolded it to read what it had said.

"... An inventory list?"

She read through the list, checking off what she already guessed the crates to contain. Cyborg conditioning chambers, several computer units, about fifty shooting staves, five large personnel cannons, and-

"... A truck?"

She had no idea why a truck would be listed here, but the list even detailed the truck's appearance. An import food company's truck. So they were using it as a disguise to get around the city. This made things easier as Cinque could as least find out about the routes these company trucks would make, and cross-reference them with surveillance videos to find an odd truck that wasn't on the list. Folding the paper into her pocket, Cinque looked around to find any more information when-

"AAHHHH!"

Cinque turned around at the sound of that scream. She recognized that voice.

"Nove!"

Now wasn't the time to wonder why her younger sister was here. Cinque ran out of the warehouse, only to come face to face with a nightmarish scene. Nove was on the floor, in a pool of blood, and standing above the fallen cyborg, was a creature Cinque could only describe as-

"Demon..."

A shape of a man, standing on two large clawed reptilian feet that were constantly on fire, wearing large black metallic armour over the chest, four arms that were large, muscular. Two were covered with hair, the two were covered with scales. The face was contorted, stretched and elongated like a goat's, but it had six black gaping holes for eyes and the lower jaw was split into two separate jaws. Two horns grew and spiralled from its crown and two large skeletal wings spread out from its back. A large forked tail, a snake for each of its tree ends.

Towering above Cinque, it was easily two metres tall. The creature lunged at Cinque, who dodged the first blow, then the second. The creature's third blow connected with Cinque, sending her flying back into the warehouse, crashing into the empty crates. Slightly dazed, Cinque sat up amongst the debris. She shook her head to clear her mind as her ears picked up the thundering stomps of the creature. She had no idea what this creature was, never seen something like this before in her life. A genetically mutated beast who worked for the mysterious backer? Cinque did not know, but whatever it was, it wasn't friendly. But something about the armour really struck a cord with Cinque. It had an emblem, one that she somehow recognized. Her memory did not recall having seen such an emblem, but nevertheless it was familiar to her.

"Now isn't the time to think of these things."

Cinque muttered to herself as she jumped to her feet. The creature charged at her, brandishing a large battle axe. A physical weapon, an extremely rare sight to see these days and even weirder to see it in the hands of a creature that looked like it came from some mad scientist's lab. Not that Cinque would be remotely close to looking like something as hideous as that. Cinque had to thank the doctor for having some common sense, unlike whoever made this. Cinque summoned her stingers, charging them with energy before throwing them at the creature. The stingers connected and exploded, temporarily making the creature stumble back. But it was unharmed, completely. Cinque had to think fast.

She looked around the warehouse, and spotted what she needed. The creature roared out, charging once more at her. Cinque took out a stinger, and threw it skyward. The stinger connected with a steel beam that was loosely hanging from the platform above. For whatever reason it was there, Cinque did not know but she was sure glad that it was there. The stinger exploded and the steel beam was knocked off the platform, falling straight down vertically.

The large piece of metal pierced through the large body of the creature, pinning it down to the floor. But the creature was still alive, clawing and snarling at her. Cinque jumped onto the back of the creature, touching the steel beam with her hand and transferring as much energy as she could muster into the beam, before jumping clear of the large explosion that destroyed not only the creature, but half of the warehouse as well. Cinque was sent flying back into the crates.

"Shouldn't get too comfortable with these crates... might make it a habit."

Cinque stumbled out of the mess, and waited for the dust cloud to settle. She spotted the creature, half of its body burned and gone. But the other half soon started to disintegrate into dust. Not even bones, or the metal chest plate remained. Completely gone. Now she had no evidence to give in. Demons, whoever said that wasn't dreaming. Cinque then remembered her fallen sister. Having injured her own left arm, and walking on a limp, Cinque made her way back to Nove. Checking for a pulse, Cinque was relieved to find one. Nove was knocked out cold, and only had a small cuts across her body. But where did this blood come from? From the creature? Cinque did not see any wounds on that beast when she fought it. So what could it be-

"Who's there!"

Cinque demanded, having sensed someone, or something, moving from behind the corner. But once whatever was standing there stood out, Cinque sort of wished she didn't asked. The same creature that she just defeated stepped out. Not only that, but another one. And another one. Soon, about twenty of those creatures came lumbering towards Cinque. With little energy left, Cinque had to drag Nove away, as far as possible to try to get her younger sister to safety. Unfortunately the previous battle had done more damage than Cinque initially thought, and she soon found all of her strength gone, collapsing onto the ground.

"Tch... Come on! Move!"

Cinque demanded her small frame, but it just would not respond to her will. She cursed her weak self, her small frame, and her stupidity for not noticing things sooner. Struggling to her feet, the small cyborg had to stand her ground. She couldn't get Nove any further than this, so the least she could do was to protect her younger sister. To delay the inevitable? Maybe it was in some sort of desperation that maybe she could take them on even though her legs were trembling and unable to be still like how Wendi was unable to sit still after she had twelve cups of sugar drinks. No, it was much simpler than that. Cinque simply wanted to protect her sister. It was the act itself of being able to standing between her family and imminent death. Though it may be all for naught, though the truth may be grim, Cinque would do her part as an elder sister. She will protect what she had gained.

"... Come and taste some of my steel, demons."

Cinque managed to summon one stinger, but with it she felt more at ease. A single stinger against twenty giant monsters. The last time she almost faced certain death was against Subaru during the JS case. That one battle really frightened Cinque, as seeing a Type Zero go berserk was like having an arc en ciel fire at her body. Not as powerful, but somewhat equal in the weight. This battle was somewhat similar to that fateful battle. This time, she would make sure she wouldn't fall that easily. But suddenly a shot rang out, startling the creatures.

One of them, the nearest to Cinque collapsed and dissolved into dust, a hole the size of a fist punctured through its skull. The creatures turned to where the shot came from, and saw a young man standing by one of the warehouses, holding onto a large pistol. His face was covered by the hood over his head, but his size and body shape told Cinque that he wasn't that old. But what was he doing here? Who is he? So many questions but her consciousness faded as the last of her energy was spent, slipping her into darkness.

* * *

Omake:

Ginga: Otou-sama! How many times have i told you not to leave your things lying around? You're the commanding officer here!

Genya: Ah, sorry about that. It's just that i've become too relaxed these days. Thanks to you i can rest easy knowing that everything would be in order.

Ginga: Mou~ i can't be around for your every whim and need. You've become the laziest person around the house as well ever since Cinque and the others moved in.

Genya: a man cannot help but sit back and relax to enjoy his harem.

Ginga: Ah~? What did you say?

Genya: Nothing... Ah Ginga, you might want to watch out for-

Ginga: KYAAA!

Ginga slips over a banana peel, sending her tumbling around and causing an even bigger mess than before. The stack of heavy documents Ginga was carrying slammed straight into Genya's face, causing him to fall over and be buried in paper.

FW: ... Where ever there are dojikkos (clumsy girl), there will be banana peels.

* * *

A/N: While writing this, i had to think up of an anime that would be suitable for the plot. I took me awhile and i ended up taking up multiple ideas from my other stories. Oh yes, since I'm taking quite a number of things from the Sound Stages, it might be helpful if you go and listen to them. Youtube has a whole stack of them with translations. But you're lazy to do that, then just ask and I'll explain some stuff. Like the Marine Garden incident. That was a completely Sound Stage only event. Nanoha, Fate and Hayate did not make any appearance, but had Subaru, Teana, Erio, Caro, Alto, Vice, N2R and some others. It also introduced Ix. And it also showed Subaru's and Erio's monster appetites.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: This chapter is where i start to use German. Remember, i don't speak German. Using crude translation bots is my only option.

* * *

_Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha_

_5ive_

_chapter 5_

**God of Fire**

She awoke with a start, though sorely regretted that decision almost immediately as a searing pain shot throughout her body. Clutching onto her abdomen, which was somehow wrapped with bandages, Cinque took time to adjust her sight and study her surroundings. She wasn't in the warehouse district of the fifth ward, that much was certain. She was in a room, rather plainly decorated with simple furniture, with the lights only dimly lighting the room enough to let her see. The view from the balcony told Cinque that she was somewhere back in the main city.

An apartment complex of some sort. She tried to look for familiar landmarks to gauge where this complex was, and fortunately she noticed one. The Marine Garden. That meant that she was close to Subaru's apartment. Cinque turned the other way, and saw that Nove was sleeping soundly on the bed that Cinque had also lain on. Nove also had bandaged wrapped around her injuries, but Cinque noticed something. Nove was not wearing clothes, and neither was she. If she remembered correctly, it should have been a young man who took care of those monsters. Did he dress their wounds? Where was he?

"All better?"

A voice made Cinque jump, summoning a stinger in one hand and grabbing the bed covers to cover her body with the other.

"Woah there, I mean you no harm."

A young man walked into the room, where the dim light illuminated his features. He was certainly young, about twenty three to twenty five. His emerald eyes were bright and somewhat playful, complimenting his young looks. His short reddish brown hair had a long thin tail at the back. He was quite slim, but his muscles were rather well pronounced. The young man carried a tray of what appeared to be food and drinks. Cinque was still not ready to trust this man, however, seeing as she knew nothing of him. And that he was the most likely suspect to undress her and Nove.

"... Do you mind putting that down? It's rather hard to do anything with you having that pointed at me."

"And whose fault is that, i wonder?"

Cinque shot back at him, making him sigh.

"I guess I should introduce myself first. I'm first lieutenant Silva Vignale, part of the 78th special investigations division of the TSAB."

At that, Cinque immediately dropped her weapon. A member of the TSAB, not to mention a higher ranking officer than herself.

"I-... I'm sorry, first lieutenant. I didn't realize-"

"It's alright. I don't look the trust worthy type anyway. Here, have some soup and bread. It'll give you the strength to get well."

Silva placed the tray on the coffee table close to the table, before turning to leave.

"Erm... first lieutenant Vignale-"

"Call me Silva. I only got promoted recently and it's rather unnerving to have that rank."

Cinque was rather unsure on how to address this rather laid-back, young, and somewhat playful officer. But if that was what he wanted, then that is how she should reply.

"... Silva... Would you mind filling me in the details of what happened?"

Silva blinked a couple of times at Cinque, before shrugging and taking a chair to sit on.

"Alright, what do you want to know? Just for your information, I didn't undress you and do your bandages. My partner did them."

"Partner?"

"Yeah, she's out at the moment, gone back to the warehouses to investigate those creatures."

Those... demons. Cinque needed to know more about them. Silva, however, seemed to know what Cinque was wondering.

"Those creatures down at the warehouses were not 'demons' as your squadron was made to believe."

"Wha-"

"Forgive me, but i had a look at your identification cards. The 108 battalion was given the report of 'demons', mostly taken from the testimonies of the people who stumbled upon those creatures. However my division had been investigating this case for about a year already. It isn't some foreign creature, but rather a forced mutation."

Cinque had thought as much. But from what creature could be mutated to form such a hideous creature? It had parts from mammals, reptiles and even birds?

"I cannot tell you beyond this, and seeing as how you went too far, I'm afraid of what your superior would do to my division if this gets out."

Silva sighed, sitting back in the chair.

"... If you can't tell me more about the creatures, could you tell me more about the case? Please, it's important."

Cinque pleaded. If there was a connection to finding the doctor then-

"You're chasing Doctor Jail Scaglietti, am I right?"

Cinque's eyes widened in surprise. How did Silva know about the doctor's escape?

"The higher-ups knew about the break-out, but they've been trying to keep it under wraps in hopes to catch him before a wide spread panic occurs. You're probably the first of those directly involved with the JS incident to know about it, though. Not even Commander Yagami knows."

"But- but why? Why did the brass not tell Nanoha, Fate or Hayate? They deserved to know that much!"

Silva shook his head slowly.

"Enforcer Nakajima, you still don't understand how politics work. The moment the JS case was over, the people in-charge of the doctor would be a different division. And it just so happened that the head of that division has had his dreams crushed when Commander Yagami climbed to the top of command. This is a man who has a lot of influential connections and had his pride trampled upon time and time again. I would say he would want to deal with this matter as discreetly as possible. Besides, if the three aces of the TSAB were to mobilize, what do you think would happen?"

Silva asked. Cinque thought about for the moment. Surely everyone in the bureau would notice with the three aces were suddenly all going out for action, especially Nanoha. A panicking bureau would spell disaster. Cinque wanted to finish this without causing any incident. But now that Nove was involved, things would only become more complicated.

"I can see you understand it now."

Silva smiled.

"... I won't stop you from chasing the doctor, since I don't really have any authority to do so. However there is something very much larger than just the doctor being free in this case. This may be way over your head. If you cannot even defeat one of those genetic beasts, you will be dead."

* * *

She still could not give up on the case, not matter what first lieutenant Silva Vignale had told her. A week had passed since that day, and Cinque had spent about half of that time recovering her strength and going for check-ups. She spent the second half of that week to restart her investigation. Her superior, Dino Berlinetta, was rather easy to convince that she needed some time. However Dino was much smarter than he seemed, even if he did appear to be uncaring and constantly angry.

"Just don't go destroying everything in your way, Nakajima. And come back in one piece. I'll be damned if my squad is missing even one person. There just aren't enough recruits worthy enough to replace any spaces left."

Was what he said while reading a report and chewing on an unlit cigarette when she asked for an extended leave of absence to investigate further. It was Dino's habit to chew on unlit cigarettes until a mission was over, where he would then light it up. Cinque knew that that cigarette was for her. Only when she returned that he would light it. Cinque smiled, and snapped a salute, turning to leave.

"Oh, and Nakajima."

Dino called out before she left the office.

"Sir?"

"... You'll always have a place here. Don't forget it. Your cubicle is too damn small for anyone else anyway."

Cinque stared blankly at her commanding officer, before smiling.

"Yes sir!"

Cinque left the office and headed straight for the infinite library. There had to be something in there that could help her. The infinite library was the largest collection of material the TSAB had, and it was often said that if you couldn't find something in the library, you wouldn't find it anywhere else. Or you were simply hallucinating about something that doesn't exist and you need to go seek some professional mental help. For Cinque, those genetic beasts and this case was real. She paused outside the saint's church hospital, the building being along the way. Nove was still hospitalized, having sustained more severe damage than Cinque did.

Silva did say that this was far larger than just the doctor. Whoever was backing the doctor will pay, Cinque swore to herself. A couple of blocks later, Cinque found herself at the Infinite library. A rather impressive building, if she may say so herself. The interior was slightly different from what normal people would picture a library, as it was simply one large room. If you could actually call it a room. There was no floor, no ceiling, no end to the rows of books. The entire building's interior did not match the size of the exterior, being a product of a lot of magic and technology.

The reason it being called the Infinite library, besides having nearly limitless amount of material, was the fact that if you tried to look for the end of the rows of books, or the floor, or the ceiling, you'll only see darkness and you'll be probably be driven mad trying to find meaning and answers to the design. Cinque floated up to a part of the library that had fewer people and began to access the files. A couple of books that she requested floated out from their respective shelves and over to her. Her search would first start with the truck and the food company. She also started a search of the genetic beasts. By her deduction, there shouldn't be a lot of cases dealing with genetic beasts which should narrow down what she needed to find.

"... Total cases... twelve thousand?"

Cinque was a little too surprised at what she found, causing her volume to be slightly loudly than what it should be. It made some of the other patrons turn to look in her direction, something she didn't want. She quickly buried her face back into her research.

"... It would take some time to go through these-"

"Cinque-nee sama?"

She turned at the call of her name, and was surprised to see two familiar faces.

"Otto, Deed... why are the two of you here?"

She asked her two younger sisters. Otto and Deed were both in their church uniforms, meaning they probably came directly from the Saint's church for some official business. The twins were created at different times, but were from the same base DNA. As such they connected very well with each other and were called the 'twins'.

"Knight Carim asked us to look into some files. It had something to do with ancient Belka and a lost logia that an investigation division was investigating."

Otto explained. Cinque found it odd that the church would aid an investigation with a TSAB division for ancient Belka and lost logia, but the church was the best place to ask for ancient Belkan history.

"What about yourself, Cinque-nee sama?"

"Hmm? Oh, i was doing some investigation on a case... Still, i did not expect so many files for this."

"Let me see... Genetic beasts? Cinque-nee, does your investigation have to deal with this?"

Deed wondered. Cinque thought it would be best to keep most of the details out, but to explain this without lying too much was hard. Lying was something Cinque could hardly do to her family members.

"A-ah... the report mentioned strange creatures that no one had seen before. I was thinking if it were possible for such experiments to be happening."

Otto and Deed seemed to buy her story with their approving nods.

"What a strange coincidence. The division that asked for help was requesting information on a certain technology for mutating genetic material. It was said to be created during the Belkan Saint King war, but there was no real proof of it."

"Ancient Belkan technology?"

Cinque had never heard of this. Sure, there was the dark King Ixpellia and the army of Mariage. But genetic mutation experiment?

"It isn't mentioned clearly, but rather only small lines make vague references to it, and the lost logia in question. The 'Word of Time'."

Otto pulled out several monitors, showing the various texts that detailed the said lines.

"Apparently, the lost logia 'Word of Time' was seen as a great source of power and each nation sought it out as proof of their divine right of rule. The genetic beast experiment was created as a sort of 'guardian protocol' for the lost logia, taking the strongest parts of both man and beast to form the ultimate guard. After the fall of Belka, Mid-childa banned all such experiments, though any evidence of there being such experiments in the first place were never found."

Cinque found this to be slightly too odd. Lost Logia, genetic beasts, ancient Belka.

"And I just called her majesty over, since there was something that was related to her."

"Vivio? What does your research have to do with her?"

Cinque asked, unsure on how this case would have to deal with the young Takamachi girl. Cinque knew that Vivio is an artificial mage, cloned from the last Saint King, Sankt Kaiser Olivie Segbrecht.

"Her majesty is often quite excited and interested in things that relate to her original. Probably after hearing all about the ancient Belkan life of Hegemon Claus Ingvalt from Einhart-san. I assume it is because her majesty wishes to find something about her original to stand on equal ground to Einhart."

Deed explained. Cinque had not seen the active Takamachi girl for quite some time, though it wasn't hard to picture Vivio being all competitive about this.

"And? What have you found?"

Cinque asked. Otto nodded and pulled out another monitor.

"The Sankt Kaisers were the ones in rule over Ancient Belka, and as such they often had their own knights guard over the Word of Time."

"Didn't you say that they used genetic beasts?"

"Yes, most texts refer to the guardians of the lost logia as 'neither man nor beast, both and more, stands watch over the voice of Time'. However in the line of the Sankt Kaisers, they kept records of their knights. We found that a special line was divided for specific knights. Each new ruler had chosen a knight to be a guardian of the 'sacred object'. The records don't say exactly what lost logia it is, but seems reasonable to think that this would refer to the same lost logia."

"I see, but how does Vivio come into play?"

"I thought her majesty would like to know of the knights who served her original, as well as the special knight who was chosen to serve as the guardian. Usually such knights were close and trusted by the Kaisers that sent them, and their skills had to be of certain degree. I imagine that since Olivie had chosen to end the war with her death, that knight chosen must have been really special to her."

And it was at that moment that a familiar voice called out to the twins.

"Otto, Deed!"

The three turned and saw the small blonde heterochromic girl floating up to where they were. Cinque was sure that it hadn't been that long since she last saw the young Takamachi, but Vivio sure looked like she had grown quite a bit from last they met.

"Cinque-san? I didn't know you were here. It's been so long! How have you been?"

Cinque could only smile at the young girl's energetic and bubbly nature. It had been so long since she last saw her, so it was rather refreshing to see Vivio.

"I've been well, Vivio. How about yourself? Is everything going well in school?"

"Yup! I got full marks for history! Ah, i heard you had a training session with Nanoha-mama. She wouldn't stop talking about it for two days straight."

"I'm sorry for that."

Cinque apologized, though Vivio only replied with a puzzled look.

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I think i may have gone too far."

"Oh no, not at all! Nanoha-mama was very excited about that. She kept saying about how much fun it was for her."

Cinque made a mental note not to get Nanoha too riled up next time. Somehow the thought of Nanoha being very excited over a mock battle had sent shivers down Cinque's spine. She did not know just how much of a battle maniac the white devil of the TSAB was. Maybe that was how she got the nickname 'white devil'.

"Anyway, Otto and Deed said they want to show you something. I'll excuse myself first."

"Eeh? Why not stay? Let's have lunch after this! It's been so long since I've seen you. It's just like mama said, 'Cinque is such an anti-social person'."

Anti-social? Since when? Well, Cinque did admit that due to her work she rarely had time to go see friends, and the free time she had was usually spent at home or with her family. But that did not really warrant her to be labelled 'anti-social', did it?

"... Alright, I'll stay."

Cinque sighed in defeat. She just could not say 'no' to those mismatched eyes. Vivio did a small cheer and smiled broadly to Otto and Deed.

"See? Told you I could do it."

"Yes you have, your majesty."

Otto nodded. Turning back to data that Otto pulled, the twins started to explain the entire story of the Sankt Kaisers and the lost Logia 'Word of Time' to Vivio, who had her eyes wide open and filled with sparkles of anticipation and excitement.

"No one really knows where or when the Lost Logia Word of Time came from, but literatures from ancient Belka had often made connections and allusions to it. There had been no definite proof that it actually existed, but the ancient Belkan Saint Kings often claimed that they had built and strengthened their kingdoms through the ownership of this lost logia. Up till now, many scholars merely believed that the Word of Time was merely a metaphor for the long years that the ancient kings used to build up their nations. However recent discoveries had shown otherwise."

Otto brought up a new monitor that detailed a whole list of a names.

"Each of the Sankt Kaiser heir had a list of Knights that served under them. Some were considered more important than others to the Sankt Kaiser of the time and thus given important jobs, like being a personal bodyguard, or a general of their army. However what scholars have noticed is that a certain Knight would be excluded out of the normal list, having their name placed under a special section _'Huter der Zeit_', or the Guardian of Time. No one really knew what that meant till more literature detailing the Word of Time came out. Now we have come to believe that the _Huter der Zeit_ were chosen guardians by the Sankt Kaisers to guard their very own symbol of power. The _Huter der Zeit_ would therefore be considered the most trusted and possibly the strongest of all Knights serving that Saint King."

"So they were like... their best friends?"

Vivio wondered. Deed smiled as she poured some tea for them to drink. Cinque had to wonder where Deed took out that entire tea set from, but still gratefully took a tea cup from Deed and sipped on her red tea. It was very good tea, Cinque had to admit that Deed was very well versed in preparing tea, and she knew Otto was also just as good, if not better. Vivio thanked Deed as she too took a tea cup and a muffin to eat. Really, just where did Deed take those things out from?

"Yes, they were considered the best friends and comrades of the Sankt Kaisers. And for the last Saint King, Olivie, she too had chosen a Knight to guard over the Word of Time. This was right before the cradle was lost and the war ended."

Otto continued.

"So she knew that the war would end with her death, so she sent her best friend away from the battle? She must really treasure that Knight."

"Yes. We have the list of knights who served Sankt Kaiser Olivie Segbrecht, and we also have Olivie's chosen Huter der Zeit. Or in this case, Huterin der Zeit."

"A female knight?"

"Yes. The name is lost to us, but since your majesty would be interested, i did a little research further into this. The TSAB division who requested this would also be interested in who was the last Knight to guard the Word of Time before it was lost. The last Huterin der Zeit was known commonly as the Wolfritter,_ 'Explodierende Gott'_. The 'Exploding God'."

* * *

Omake (this is an actual part of the sound stage, and I'm taking the doujin Nano again... man i love that doujin):

During a short trip to Earth

Nanoha: Hmm... I still feel like going to the gathering empty handed... hmm... i know!

Nanoha reached into her bag and pulled out a phone.

Nanoha: Ah, okaa-san? Yeah, I was in the area and thought of dropping by-

Subaru and Teana looked to another and started to talk to each other through telepathy

Subaru: Nanoha-san's mother?

Teana: We know she exists but... what kind of person is she?

Subaru (who admires Nanoha) imagines an angelic figure bathing in light. Teana (who has respect, but also greatly fears Nanoha) imagines an evil devil like person.

Nanoha gets off the phone.

Nanoha: Alright, let's stop by someplace... what's up with your faces?

Cinque: The amount of delusions involved are massive

FW: More so than you think.

Omake 2:

Cinque: Hmm, i really should try to get my body changed. I don't fit the image of a proper 'older' sister.

FW: You don't need to change your body (more like lolicons everywhere won't allow it)

Cinque: My younger sisters are taller than me! Just now someone told me to be a 'good girl and listen to my elders'! And she was talking about Wendi!

FW: Ah... Wendi... i can see why you're angry.

Wendi: Hey!

FW: But don't you have those mature clothes? Shouldn't it be enough?

Cinque: No! People just think I'm being abused by my family!

FW: ... you aren't?

Cinque: ! Even you're saying that? Didn't you say you like me?

FW: Ah... yeah, you're my number three favourite anime girl. Still, having fun is my number one philosophy.

Cinque: you... you DEMON!

FW: Ah, sure... Okay, let's do this. Use this.

Cinque: What is this?

FW: I call it the ZGFX X-01, Freedom

Cinque: Wow, it's really-... HEY! THIS ISN'T GUNDAM!

* * *

A/N: Brownie points to those who get the reference of the Exploding God. Actually, it is really obscure reference. I actually wanted to called it Exploding God Hand, but it sounded weird for this story. If you understand the meaning of Exploding God Hand, you can pat yourself on the back and say you've officially played too many games. Then again... Exploding God sounds weird...


	6. Chapter 6

A/N:So as to prevent my story from getting anymore messed up by the new chapters of Force and Vivid, I'll just post them all in one go. Ready? Here we go! (no, I'm not Mario)

For those who wonder, Wolfritter means 'Wolf Knight'.

* * *

_Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha_

_5ive_

_chapter 6_

**Vacation or kidnapping**

Mainly because Vivio had so many questions to ask, Cinque did not manage to find time to do her own research as each time Cinque wanted to get away, the young Takamachi would make sure the second daughter of the Nakajima family would not run away. Lunch promise, as Vivio would put it. And so Cinque had to put off her research all the way to lunch. She got copies of the things she needed to look through and brought it with her as she accompanied Vivio and the twins for lunch.

"Hmm, why not try something else besides the cafeteria here? I heard of a new restaurant opening just down the street."

Was what Vivio suggested, and since the twins never went against Vivio, it was automatically chosen to head over there to eat lunch. The place in question was quite new, even in the design and layout. After ordering their meals, the twins continued their story of the Sankt Kaisers and the lost logia to Vivio. While Cinque was not very interested in most of that talk, something inside her felt rather odd when she heard about the Wolfritter. It may also be connected with her case this time.

The genetic beast technology dated back to the Belkan era and were used to guard the Word of Time together with the Huter der Zeit. There was definitely a connection there with the genetic beasts she fought against. If the genetic beasts were actually working for the Huter der Zeit, then Cinque would have a suspect on who is backing the doctor. But why? The Huter der Zeit was meant to protect the Word of Time, so why go through all of this? Why release the doctor?

"Where is the Word of Time now?"

Vivio asked, breaking Cinque's train of thought.

"The last Hunterin der Zeit disappeared from record, and together with her, went the location of the Word of Time as the world of the ancient Belka collapsed shortly after the war. No records were ever made during the Belkan era, and Mid-childa did not have any information that spoke of it."

"Is it possible that someone found it already?"

"Maybe. No one can say for certain."

What Vivio had asked made a certain connection for Cinque. It was possible that someone found the Word of Time, someone in Mid-childa. Then the successor of the Huter der Zeit would be hunting for it. But why the doctor? Cinque knew that the doctor had many connections and records of ancient Belkan technology and writings. After all, the doctor was the one who created Vivio from Olivie's DNA from the Shroud of the Saint King. If the doctor was able to get hold of the Shroud, then by the same reasoning, he would be able to at least find a trail to lead to the Word of Time.

The only ones who would know where the Word of Time is would be those who had connections to the ancient Belkan world, and the doctor had many. But Cinque had no idea how, or where to find the doctor and the new Huter der Zeit. She pulled out a monitor that had the routes of the trucks for the food company, and another that listed each known location of the trucks in the past week. Crossing out each truck that was recorded on the food company's list, she finally narrowed it down to two trucks that didn't match any schedules.

"Cinque! We're suppose to have a nice lunch! Don't focus so much on work."

Vivio whined, making Cinque close the monitor. For now, Cinque would entertain Vivio. After all, she would need more information to track down the culprits and the doctor. For now, she guessed it would be best to just take things slowly.

* * *

But by slow, Cinque did not mean where she ended up. At a hot spring resort on another planet with the Takamachi's. If you have to wonder how and why she ended up there, you would have to look back to when Cinque was still having lunch with Vivio. Otto and Deed excused themselves early to turn in their findings back to the Church, therefore leaving Cinque to escort the young Takamachi back home. But by doing so, Cinque condemned herself to become the Takamachi's plaything. Nanoha, being at home when Cinque escorted Vivio home, had brought (read as dragged) in Cinque to offer some tea and snacks. It seemed Nanoha still had lots to talk about with Cinque, particularly about her training regime.

The conversation shifted to Cinque's family, how the rest were doing, her recent cases and other normal conversational pieces. However, that only made time go by quickly, and Nanoha invited (read as forced by presence) Cinque to join them for dinner. Nanoha also specialized in cooking Japanese styled food that came from her home planet of Earth, much like how the Nakajima family would cook such food for dinner since Genya loved those kind of meals. And after the meal, Nanoha offered tea and sweets (Nanoha heard that Cinque had a sweet tooth and thus able to trap the Nakajima girl in her house), and the conversations continued. It went on till Vivio fell asleep.

While Nanoha carried Vivio to her bed, Cinque contemplated leaving before anything else happened, but the mere thought of leaving without saying anything and making the white devil really pissed was something that rooted Cinque to her chair. When Nanoha returned, she immediately proposed (read as imposed) the idea of Cinque staying over. And thus, Cinque's fate was sealed. No one can oppose the white devil when she was emitting a murderous aura for some reason.

"I'll lend you some clothes, and you can take the guest room on the second floor."

Nanoha had somehow or rather gotten hold of clothes that fit Cinque's size. It should be noted that while Cinque is small, she is still slightly taller than Vivio. Any of Vivio's clothes would be considered somewhat small. Another piece of note is that Cinque's sense of fashion was considered somewhat 'smart guy' fashion. Her normal clothings were dress shirts with ties and pants together with coats. For the clothes that Nanoha prepared, it fitted Cinque perfectly and it was somewhat boyish in fashion, not unlike what Cinque's own set of sleeping attire.

Sometimes, though, Cinque would be too tired from work to change and she would just sleep in her uniform. For now, Cinque got changed into the clothes provided for her and headed into the guest room. The guest room was quite large, much larger than what the Nakajima house had for a guest room. Not only that, but it was furnished with items that wouldn't normally fit a mere guest room. Photo frames of the Takamachi family, a colourful clock, full stationary and work desk, a beautiful wardrobe, coffee table, and many other small miscellaneous objects.

Just where did Nanoha get all of this? And whose room did this belong to exactly? Whilst Cinque was worried about those questions, she was nonetheless tired and crawled under the covers of the large bed. While Cinque dreamt of flying tea cups and an army of giggling Vivio's marching with Nanoha wearing a general's uniform at the lead, the real Nanoha was already getting ready for the next phase of the plan.

The said plan was discovered by Cinque the next morning when she awoke and was rushed to use the clean up by an overly energetic Vivio, who forced the cyborg into the toilet, then rushed back to the room to get changed (once again clothes were provided by Nanoha), and forced into Nanoha's car, where the combat instructor sped off without giving Cinque enough time to comprehend the fact that she had been kidnapped in broad daylight. By the time Cinque managed to get her senses working, she was on a transport cruiser bound for another planet. Since it is rather difficult to imagine such a scene, here is the event that led to this.

"Cinque-san! Ohaiyo!"

Vivio burst through the door that almost made the said door fly off its hinges. Cinque got up, still groggy after being able to sleep in such a comfortable bed. A little too comfortable.

"...Eh?... ah, ohai-"

"Go get changed! Now! Here, let me show you the washroom!"

"...ah, no, I can do it-"

Without another word, Vivio grabbed Cinque by the hand and dragged the older girl out of bed, out of the room and through the hallway way to the washroom.

"Here you go! Ah, you can use the toothbrush in that blue cup. Toothpaste is on the sink. Don't take too long!"

"... thank you..."

Cinque's brain had not yet comprehended much since it was still half asleep. Mindlessly following instructions, Cinque washed up, though the sleepiness still had not gone away. That was when Vivio came rushing back.

"Cinque-san! Are you done?"

"... eh? ah, I just finis-"

"Good! Let's go!"

"... eh? Go?... go where?"

"On a trip! Come on! Mama is waiting for us!"

"Ah... but-"

"Let's go!"

Without another word (again), Vivio pulled Cinque out of the washroom and back to the guest room where a set of clothes were already laid out. Said clothes looked rather familiar to Cinque, a dress shirt with pants and tie. Without even saying anything, Vivio took one mighty grip, and literally undressed Cinque with one pull. With such a magnificent pull, even Cinque was unable to have time and enough power to understand the logic of what just happened.

As such, she was left in a daze. Vivio had no choice (or rather she just did not even wait for Cinque to react) but to dress Cinque. Dressing her did not even take two minutes, and once more Vivio pulled Cinque out of the room, down the stairs and out the door where Nanoha was waiting with the car already running. Shoving Cinque in the back seat with a duffel bag, Vivio slammed the door and jumped into the front passenger seat.

"All ready?"

Nanoha asked her daughter, and Vivio gave a big thumbs up.

"Ready!"

"All right... ZEN RYOKU ZEN KAI! (read as full power, full destruction) Let's go!"

Soon, Cinque ended up at the space port, her stomach feeling slightly queasy from Nanoha's high speed (read as demonic) driving. And within ten minutes, she was in a cruiser bound for Cyrriean, a planet where a large number of hot springs were discovered recently. It was only on the cruiser that Cinque finally had the time to mentally pull herself together.

"... WHAT THE HELL?"

Were the first words out of her mouth. Of course, even if Cinque had managed to comprehend what had just happened, there wasn't a whole lot she could do seeing as 1) she was already on the cruiser off Mid-childa, and 2) No one (and i stress and repeat, NO ONE) goes against Takamachi Nanoha. Now Cinque was on a forced vacation, unable to get any research done.

"Cinque-chan, are you enjoying yourself?"

Nanoha asked, poking her head around her chair to see Cinque who sat in the row behind. Being asked a question directly from Nanoha would make Cinque only answer in one way.

"Yes, thank you for inviting me."

That was what Nanoha wanted to hear, and she went back to entertaining Vivio, letting Cinque contemplate on what she needed to do. For now, eating peanuts would fill her stomach. If only there were some sweets. Opening the small packet of nuts, Cinque started to eat the nuts slowly, but she suddenly noticed something.

"This is..."

It wasn't related in any direct way, but she noticed that the packet had a logo on it. A food company's symbol printed on the side. It wasn't the same food company as the one she was following, but the symbol made Cinque remember something. The symbol on the armour of the genetic beasts was something she seemed to recall from somewhere. But where? She pulled out a monitor detailing a copy of what Otto found. She listed the last Huterin der Zeit, the Wolfritter known as the exploding God. The coat of arms for the Wolfritter. Upon seeing it, Cinque knew she had a connection.

The genetic beasts were wearing the coat of arms of the Explodierende Gott. Could it be that the last Huterin der Zeit was still alive? But the last war ended many years ago. The original theory of a successor aiming for the Word of Time would be more plausible. She had to narrow it down further. She remembered Otto telling Vivio that the knight in question was considered a very good friend to the last of the Sankt Kaiser line. Vivio didn't hold the memories of her original, unlike her friend Einhart Stratos, so it was pointless to ask her. Besides, Cinque wasn't sure that Nanoha would take it kindly to her asking her daughter about these sorts of things.

However, that link could work somehow. The Shroud. Cinque knew that it was stolen from the Saint Church by Due. The church would have information on any possible leads, but that led back to the fact that Otto and Deed were asked to gather information on it, meaning the Church had none. In this very vicious circular cycle, Cinque found herself being slightly confused. She decided to take a step back to look at it as a whole.

"... I need a drink."

Cinque muttered under her breath.

"How about some green tea? I came prepared."

Nanoha once again popped her head to offer a drink with her thermal flask. How Nanoha managed to hear Cinque's barely audible whisper was beyond Cinque, but she accepted the drink nonetheless. Nanoha noticed that Cinque had brought her work out, and though she frowned at the sight of working during vacations, she did not protest. Even if it was Nanoha, she knew that Cinque was probably busy with work. Which begged the question, why did Nanoha drag Cinque around anyway?

"You're also doing research on the Sankt Kaisers and their chosen Huter der Zeits?"

Nanoha wondered, seeing the monitor Cinque had pulled out.

"Ah, yes... it seems connected to my current case, so i thought i should do some cross referencing-... Wait, Nanoha-san, how do you know about this?"

"Oh, because Vivio was too excited about it and told me all about it."

Like mother like daughter. Cinque sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"So, what have you found?"

Nanoha wondered. Cinque was unsure whether to indulge Nanoha with the information. It was like Silva warned her before. Panic was the worst thing ever to happen. But Cinque knew that Nanoha deserved to know. Vivio could be in danger once more and now that Cinque had no idea where the doctor and the new Huter der Zeit went, she would not be able to protect her family and friends.

"... I'll tell you when we reach there... I don't think Vivio should hear this."

* * *

And indeed it wasn't something that Vivio should be hearing. In fact, Cinque would be thinking that Nanoha did not want to be hearing this either. Cinque Nakajima sat on the cushion that made sitting on tatami mats more comfortable than it appears while sipping on some green tea and watching Nanoha vent some steam with some swearing and random discharges of magical power. This onsen resort was styled after non-administrated planet 97's (Earth) Japanese 'ryokan'. At first Cinque did not know what a 'ryokan' was till Nanoha explained it to her. Nanoha did come from that planet and is native to the country in which the 'ryokan' originated from.

As for how Nanoha managed to get passes to this rather extravagent inn, was through Genya, Cinque's own father. Genya had apparently met with the owner, who also came from a family that originated from non-administrated planet 97, and the two became fast friends in getting things that reminded them of where their ancestors came from. Fanatics, or culture maniacs, as Ginga would call them. However Genya could not get time to go, seeing as how Ginga had managed to strap Genya to his office chair to prevent him from running away again, as well as how he only managed to get three tickets when his entire family numbered seven including himself.

So he passed them to Nanoha, who just so happened to be training the 108 battalion. Hayate was too busy, and apparently she spent too much money buying clothes (or cosplay costumes, whichever it was Cinque never quite knew, nor did she want to know), therefore unable to leave. Fate was working on a case, and had effectively disappeared completely with no way of contacting her. While normally it would raise a note of concern, Nanoha did not seem to mind, stating that if it was Fate, she would definately return. While it did seem like a strong bond of trust between these two best friends, Cinque could not help but wonder why Nanoha made it sound as though Fate was an insect that just would not die no matter how many times you tried to kill it.

Thus, Nanoha decided to go with whoever she saw next. Which just so happened to be Cinque. And it seemed that Nanoha was very excited to go visit a 'ryokan', saying something about how a lot of ryokans she went to as a child were filled with rough large men with full body tattoos due to her father and elder siblings' side job. While Cinque had no idea what Nanoha was talking about, what she had some idea about was what the total amount of damage Nanoha was going to cause before she cooled down.

Luckily Vivio had gone off to use the open baths before the other two, so she wouldn't see any of this carnage. While Nanoha ranted on, Cinque had to really compliment the tea. It was really good. After awhile, Nanoha finally calmed down.

"So... the doctor... he escaped."

That was all Cinque said and it was all it took to get Nanoha to go off the rails. Cinque did not even managed to explain anything, but at least now, Cinque would be able to continued without any interruption.

"More like he was released. The higher ups do not want to cause a large wave of panic, like what happened the last time. While I do not agree with that completely, I understand what they mean."

Nanoha nodded in agreement. It was shown during the JS incident that mass panic had caused hundreds of people to get injured in mass swarms of people running around in confusion. The Mariage incident was handled in such a way to prevent that, and it worked out rather well. The control of information was vital to ensure that nothing unwanted occurred. Panicking civilians were the least predictable factor of any case.

"In this case, a panic would only cause us to lose the trail of the doctor and his backer. They are already using civilian vehicles to disguise themselves and a wide spread disorder of the people would only make it easier for them to go further into hiding."

"Alright. I understand. But since Hayate-chan is close to the higher-ups, and Fate-chan is a special division Enforcer, I would think that the two of them would have heard about this by now."

"I would agree, but a certain source told me that commander Yagami is definitely out of the loop. Now we would just hope you and Enforcer Harlaown don't do anything drastic."

And by drastic, Cinque should have to told Nanoha to do nothing at all. But knowing Nanoha, that ace of aces could hardly sit still, especially when her family is at risk.

"I'm currently not suppose to be on active duty. Vita-chan is the one whose taking care of most of work while i take on a more... desk job role? So technically I can go about my own way without worrying of anyone looking at what I'm doing."

Nanoha did make a valid point, and Cinque would be grateful if Nanoha was there to help. However there was something that Cinque needed Nanoha to do, and that was the only reason why Cinque is telling any of this.

"You need to stay with Vivio. I'm afraid that she may be a target since she is directly connected with the Word of Time."

Cinque knew that Nanoha would not want to make a second mistake like she did during the JS incident. During that time, she left Riot six's headquarters completely open to attacks to deal with a diversion the doctor had set up. Cinque had, at that time, snuck into the base and dealt with Ginga, only to get beaten up by Subaru till her body broke. It was a painful day for everyone and Cinque did not want to see another one of those days.

"I-... understand. But would you be alright by yourself?"

"... I should be fine."

Cinque wasn't sure herself if she would be fine working alone, but it was what she had to do.

"... So tell me, what have you learned? What does this have to do with Vivio and the Word of Time?"

Cinque took a moment to collect her thoughts before she started to explain to Nanoha what she had found.

"Following the link of the doctor's disappearance together with the increase of demon sightings down at the fifth district ward, I ended up encountering genetic beasts. These creatures were probably released in the area to deal with the leftover evidence and anyone who found it, which would explain why it was so quiet when i went down there. Meeting with special investigator Lieutenant Vignale had confirmed my suspicions that the link between the genetic beasts and the doctor was there.

Otto and Deed helped me in discovering the identity of the mysterious backer who aided the doctor. The Huter der Zeit, guardian of the Word of Time, had come to search for the lost Word of Time, believed to be lost after the fall of ancient Belka. Since this person has come to Mid-childa, we can only conclude that it was a person from Mid-childa who took the Lost Logia. It could be a private dealer, a family heirloom, or perhaps it had been in the TSAB's possession all this while, since we do not even know what form the Lost Logia takes."

"Have you searched the TSAB database of the Lost Logia currently under supervision?"

"Yes, and so far I have not found any matches. But like I said before, since we do not know what form the Word of Time takes, it is impossible to find out whether it is with the TSAB or not."

"... So what does the Word of Time have to do with Vivio?"

Cinque pulled out a monitor detailing the list of ancient Sankt Kaisers and their knights.

"The Word of Time had been used as a symbol to solidify the Sankt Kaisers' legitimacy to rule. While I'm certain that there are many other factors, many texts refer back to the Word of Time. I'm guessing that since it was seen as more than a mere object and more of a presence of power, no records were made of it to make the Sankt Kaisers seem higher than that of a normal man."

"If you cannot see for it really is, you cannot doubt it."

Nanoha seemed to understand that logic. Cinque thought it could apply to Nanoha as well. Her name as an extremely powerful mage had spread far and wide, and her nickname as the 'white devil' had spread even further. However most of those who heard of her never really had the opportunity to see who she really is. A loving mother, a good friend, and a respectful teacher. Those who don't know her like that would only fear her even more.

"Yes, and each successor to the Sankt Kaiser line had sent a Knight of their own choosing to be the Huter der Zeit, guardian to the Word of Time and their symbol of power. Even Saint king Olivie had sent a knight of her own, and that was the last Knight to be chosen to guard the Lost Logia before the ancient world of Belka collapsed."

"I see. And Vivio may be a key to finding the Word of Time."

"Exactly. Since she is the artificial mage of the last Saint King Olivie, her blood may contain clues in locating the Word of Time."

Cinque was, of course, referring to a possible technique said to be able to draw memories of ancestors through blood. It was a complete waste of time and money, in her opinion, and she never really considered it an option. However, another possible theory of what Vivio's blood may be used for, was to act as a key in 'unlocking' this lost logia. If the Word of Time truly did exist, then it surely it would hold a tremendous amount of power. But such an artefact to go unnoticed by the TSAB for so long, it must hold some sort of powerful seal over it. The blood of the Sankt Kaisers, the long line of owners of the lost logia, would surely be a suitable key to seal the powers of this artefact.

"So what else have you found?"

"... Not a lot after that. The genetic beasts did seem to be working for the Huter der Zeit, and by now the doctor would have gotten rid of the truck they were using as a disguise. Still, finding that truck would be my top priority."

"I'm sorry, I wish I could do more to help."

"No, it's alright. With you just being able to protect Vivio and the others would be the best."

* * *

Omake:

Vivio: Ne~, mama, can you tell me about the time when you were young?

Nanoha: Sure, i've told you about how i met Fate-chan and Hayate-chan, right?

Vivio: Yup!

Nanoha: Hmm... then i should start after the book of darkness incident... hmm... er... huh? a-re?

Vivio: ? Mama?

Nanoha: ... strange, i can't seem to remember much from that time.

FW: That's because of the large time leap between the various series.

Cinque: I'm guessing that also applies to me

FW: More or less.

Omake 2:

Vivio: Hmmm, mama.

Nanoha: yes?

Vivio: I've always had so many friends who are much older than me...

Nanoha: Now that mention it... i guess that's true.

Vivio: Would i get to meet someone special at my age? Just like how you and Fate-mama met?

Nanoha: I'm sure of it.

Vivio: mmmm... I... i hope that i can meet them soon, but i don't want to put my other friends that i made away. They are all important to me!

Nanoha: ... pft... ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Vivio: Ah! Mama! don't laugh! I'm being serious here! Serious enough to shoot a Divine Buster!

Nanoha: Stop that!

Cinque: ... like mother like child.

FW: The second coming of the white devil in the making.

Omake 3:

Vivio: All done with my homework!

Nanoha: So fast! Are you sure? Weren't we talking throughout the entire time?

Vivio: Yup! Raising heart taught me how to multi-task!

Nanoha: Heh... let's see... ah, it's all correct.

Vivio: I'm going to play now!

Vivio runs off to practice attack magic, truly the daughter of the white devil

Nanoha: ... why didn't Raising heart teach me this when i was younger?

FW: That was before the doping (cartridges).

Omake 4:

Vivio spots Otto in the Infinite library

Vivio: Otto!

Otto: Ah, your majesty.

Vivio: Ah, mou~ don't call me 'majesty'. I'm merely the daughter of the TSAB's ace of aces, demonic cannon girl the white devil.

Otto: ... that isn't normal, not even better than before.

Vivio: Just call me 'future white devil'

Otto: ... I think i'll have to refuse.

FW: Didn't she even question the problem with what Vivio said?

Cinque: You'll only lose if you admit it.

* * *

A/N: This last part is mainly served as an overview. You have to remember that whatever i've written so far is mainly what Cinque has deduced from what she found. It may not be the truth, but it is what Cinque has to work with.

If you're wondering why an overview is important, i'll just say this... us writers are human beings as well. We can get lost in our own writing from time to time. An overview is important for us writers to gather up what we have so far and reorganize our thoughts to make sure we don't go overboard and off in a wild direction.

For those who don't get the exploding god reference the first time, it is actually a reference to a game character called Hiro from the Generation of Chaos and Spectral Soul series. She is half demon, father being a demon god. She wields a scythe called "Heaven's Gate". Why is this relevant? It was the original concept for the new power for Cinque to use, since the name 'Exploding God Hand' seemed to fit Cinque. However the idea changed as the story went on (the idea no longer became feasible due to various settings made in the story). So what does this have to with the story now? Nothing. However not using it marked the beginning in which i had to change the story plot. Although i am no longer using Hiro's actually abilities and weapon for Cinque, the powers are still a large contributing factor. I may actually put Hiro's powers in to Cinque later.

Oh yes, although Fate's device Bardiche is often used in scythe form to attack, it is still an axe. Not a scythe.

If you read my stories, you will know that i admire two animals, wolves, and hawks (to me they represent the strength of an individual). Dragons are magical creature, so they don't count. I'm a dragon baby (chinese zodiac) by the way, so i'm bias.

Another interesting note... Silva Vignale's name was originally Silvia Vignale based off the Nissan Silvia and Ferrari Vignale. However i think Silva sounds more like a guy.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: The title of this chapter: Sentou, is a play on words. Sentou can mean either battlefield, or baths depending on the kanji used.

* * *

_Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha_

_5ive_

_chapter 7_

**Sentou**

Cinque was quite entertained by what the 'ryokan' had to offer. The open air hot springs was certainly a place to relax and really enjoy the scenery and fresh air. Although the part of bathing out in the open was still rather awkward for her to get used to. Right after the baths, Cinque got bottles of milk for herself, Vivio, and Nanoha. A strawberry flavoured one for Vivio, a coffee flavour for Nanoha, and finally a plain for Cinque herself. The three drained their bottles of milk about the same time, then left the baths to enjoy some of the attractions that the inn had to offer.

Table tennis (Cinque and Vivio as a combination still could not win Nanoha), massage chairs (Vivio enjoyed it too much and she opted to stay in hers for another two rounds), browsing the shops of gifts and snacks (Cinque bought quite a bit as gifts for the rest of the family, whereas Nanoha had gotten hold of wooden swords she called 'bokken', proving that her weapon mania had not disappeared), and finally they went back to their room, where a very elaborate and extravagant dinner was laid out for them.

And when the word elaborate and extravagant was used, it really was. Colourful dishes that were made from premium food items. Just the smell was enough to make Cinque water at the mouth. She never had such meals before. Mainly because Ginga had always made sure Genya never spent the family budget too much. Sitting down for the meal, Cinque and the Takamachi's noticed one thing. There seemed to be too much food. There had to be enough to feed nine people.

"Maybe they expected Genya and the rest of your family to come?"

Nanoha wondered. Somehow Cinque highly doubted that. Without much answers given for their rather odd predicament, they started to dig in. The first thing that Cinque noticed was that the food was rich. Extremely rich. The tastes filled theirs mouths with flavours and it soon came apparent that they weren't going to finish the whole dinner set. However, due to Nanoha's upbringing, the three of them stuffed themselves even beyond what they were capable of.

About two hours later, the three bloated guests were all lying down, trying to ease their heart burns by just groaning and moaning. After taking another hour to ease back, Cinque decided to go for another bath. She looked over to see Vivio soundly asleep, her head on her mother's lap as a pillow.

"After all of that running about she did just now, coupled with eating so much, I can't blame her for just sleeping."

Nanoha sighed, stroking her daughter's hair like how you would pet a cat, or dog.

"You go on ahead, I'll just stay here for awhile more and tuck her to bed later."

Cinque nodded and left the room. Walking down the hallway, Cinque took the time to think about what her next course of action should be. Once she got back to Mid-childa, she needed to find a new clue. Noticing that she was the only one in the baths, Cinque decided to enjoy herself really slowly this time round, particularly to help digest her food. Soaking herself in the hot spring water, Cinque was feeling relaxed, a little too relaxed. And it was because she became too relaxed that she failed to notice that intruders to the inn were creeping up towards her. The sound of snapping twigs was what alerted her, but it was too late as creatures emerged from the trees that surrounded the bath.

"Genetic beasts!"

Cinque could only move out of the way as one of those creatures threw a punch at her. The creature's initial attack was clumsy, allowing Cinque to dodge it easily though the creature's punch ended up demolishing her only way out. Using the small towel that she had with her, Cinque covered her body and summoned her stingers. She now faced five of those genetic beasts. These creatures were different from the ones she fought down at the warehouse district. They had more distinct features of giant creatures. Feet of a dragon, two large humanoid hands covered with fur, two extra appendages that were blades, face of a dragon and tail of a serpent.

Insect wings were spread out, letting them hover about. These creatures were made to kill swiftly, their sizes smaller than their predecessors. But Cinque also needed to know why were they here. If they were here, it could only mean that the Huter der Zeit was here. That was both good and bad news. Good, because now Cinque had a better chance of tailing him. Bad, because Cinque did not exactly feel all too prepared to go up against the doctor and the leader of the genetic beasts just yet. Especially in her current state. However if it were just these genetic beasts, Cinque felt that she could at least deal with them. She hadn't spent the entire week after she recovered doing nothing. The first genetic beast lunged at her.

She jumped over its blade attack and moved in closer. Ducking under an arm swing, she summoned five stingers all at once and punched them with all of her might into the abdomen of the creature. The stingers did not penetrate deep enough to draw blood, but it stayed embedded in the thick skin. Cinque jumped back and detonated the stingers. The explosion knocked the first genetic beast backwards and into the hot spring. She summoned another five stingers and jumped onto the creature's body, plunging the stingers into the hole that the explosions created. This time she was sure it would do some damage. Just as she pierced her stingers into the creature, a second genetic beast came at her.

She jumped over its attack and detonated her stingers. The explosion killed the first genetic beast while knocking the second one away. A third came flying towards her as she was falling back to the ground. Twisting her body around to avoid its blades, she threw a stinger at the creature's wings and detonated it when it was close enough. The explosion crippled the wings and sent the creature falling straight down to the ground. Landing back onto the stone ground, Cinque gathered herself together for the next round.

The second beast was recovering already, and the third was trying to get back onto its feet. Cinque noticed that the last two were not moving. What were they waiting for? Cinque wanted to know but the recovered genetic beast charged at her once more. Ducking her its blade swipe, she just managed to touch that blade. But just a mere touch was enough for Cinque to turn it into her very own weapon. Detonating that blade, the creature howled out in pain, blindly swinging its other blade.

Side-stepping the creature, she slid her hand over its last blade, causing it to explode as well. The creature howled in anguish as it started to disintegrate into dust. So, it did not actually take a fatal shot to get rid of these genetic beasts. Just as Cinque wanted to move in to finish the third struggling beast, a blade flew out and embedded itself into the ground right before Cinque. The magic blade itself was something that Cinque had only seen out of pictures. A prototype magic device. But who would use-

"Long time no see, Cinque."

Cinque looked up upon hearing that familiar voice. Stepping out from the bushes in her blue combat cyborg uniform, the older cyborg smirked, recalling the blade she threw back to her hand.

"... Tre."

* * *

The two stared at each in silence, having only the sound of the near dead genetic beast struggling to gasp for air cut the air. Cinque Nakajima wasn't focused on that, however, her main concern being the person who stood before her. Tall and confident, Tre, her older sister, was facing her. In terms of fire power, Cinque would be no match for Tre. Cinque, only having a mage rank of AA, knew that she couldn't face Tre, a S+ ranked fighter, in a one on one combat. Not only were there two more genetic beasts, but Tre herself was there. Cinque's mind was drawing blanks. Certain defeat, certain death. But would she really let it be without doing anything? Not likely. Summoning her stingers, Cinque showed her resolve to Tre, who only smirked.

"I always knew you would be defiant. Don't worry, though, this time i'm here for you, not the White Devil or her child. Orders are to capture you."

"Capture? What for?"

Cinque unknowingly let her guard down with that question. It surprised her, to say the least, that Tre had been ordered to capture her. What was their goal? Was it to brainwash her to join them? Cinque was the most experienced in combat and strategy amongst the free numbers, but those were traits not needed by the doctor who had Quattro and Tre. Besides, wasn't the doctor originally going to find Cinque and the other numbers to have his revenge?

"That, my dear little Cinque, isn't necessary for you to know. RIDE IMPULSE!"

Tre disappeared from view, having activated her inherent skill to move at blinding speeds. Cinque knew from instinct where the attack would be coming from, jumping to the side to avoid a blow. Tre not only had her IS, but also with her new blade devices, her attack could be well over S+ mages. What's worse was that Tre was capable of flight, whereas Cinque did not. This did not look good for her. The two genetic beasts that stayed silent at first were now charging at her. Cinque ducked under one attack, rolling across the bath floor to the struggling genetic beast she dealt a massive blow previously to.

Grabbing it, she used its body as a shield to prevent another blade attack from the attacking genetic beast. With the blade of the attacker stuck in the torso of her meat shield, she summoned twenty stingers to form a sphere around the two genetic beasts and jumped away before detonating them. The sheer shock of the explosion blew Cinque off her feet and back into the baths. Emerging from the water, Cinque came face to face with Tre's magic blade.

"You lose, Cinque."

Cinque did not want to believe it, but she knew how Tre would work in these situations. Though Tre was an excellent front-line forward attacker, she also had the mentality to win at any cost, in any way. That meant that she would take advantage at any turn. Cinque couldn't believe that she forgot such a simple basic fact and let er back be exposed.

"Now, won't you come quietly with me? The doctor had been expecting you for quite some time."

"I'm afraid Cinque-chan isn't going anywhere tonight."

Cinque suddenly heard Nanoha's voice, and turned to where the entrance to the bath was blocked by a large amount of rubble. A rather familiar, and also foreboding, pinkish light was shining brightly through the cracks of the rubble.

_'Clearance isn't given, master.'_

"Like I care in this situation."

Uh-oh, Nanoha just had her nerves broken. That wasn't good.

_'Alright. Starlight breaker.'_

Cinque only had one thought in her mind at that point. Oh shit.

"Tre! You are hereby asked to stand down and give yourself up! Heed my warning-"

_'Star light-'_

"OR BE SHOT!"

_'Breaker'_

At that moment, a large beam of magical energy exploded through the rubble, forcing Tre away from Cinque. The beam was smaller than what Cinque had normally seen, meaning that even though Nanoha was rather angry at that point, she still had some self-control left. Stepping through the large hole that she created, Nanoha in her full barrier jacket aimed her device, raising heart, once more at Tre. So much for the warning.

"Tch, Cinque, you may have gotten away this time, but I will hunt you down. Mark my words."

With that, Tre disappeared. Nanoha wanted to give chase, Cinque stopped her, shaking her head.

"You shouldn't be too far from Vivio."

Nanoha stayed silent for the moment, before nodding, de-activating her barrier jacket and raising heart.

"Are you alright though, Cinque-chan?"

Nanoha looked worryingly at the cyborg, who noticed that part of her arm was exposing the wires and metal inside. Probably from the explosion before with her stingers. Cinque could not help but be slightly disgusted by its sight. Such is her life with a frail fake body. This made reality clear for her. She was running out of time.

"Yeah... I'm alright..."

* * *

Omake:

Cinque: Fireworks... they sure a pretty

Fate: Yes... i remember once when i was on Earth and i went to celebrate Tanabata with Nanoha (Tanabata is celebrated by the Japanese on the 7th of July to mark when two stars meet. The legend is of two lovers (Orihime and the other dude) separated and only allowed to meet once a year)

Cinque: Oh, that must be nice.

Fate: Yes, it was. I was having so much fun with a sparkler... but Nanoha was using one of those cannon fireworks (the tube shaped ones that fire the fireworks into the air)

Cinque: 'Using' as in?

Fate: ... she held it and pointed it straight at a bunch of guys who were smoking nearby

Cinque: ... She hates smoking?

FW: More like in the eyes of Nanoha, fireworks are just another weapon to exploit

Omake 2:

Cinque visits the doctor when he was still in prison

JS: Cinque! How nice of you to visit

Cinque: Doctor. Seeing you in good health-

Cinque notices the doctor's cell has posters of anime and death metal (what exactly are his tastes?)

Cinque: -does not exactly bring ease to my mind... doctor, since when did you become an Otaku?

Uno: You're not even going to question the death metal?

Tre: I wouldn't.

Cinque: Tre, Uno, good to see you. Where is Quattro?

JS: She's gotten fat, so she wouldn't want to show herself-

Quatto: Doctor! That's so mean! I did slim down!

Cinque sees Quattro as being fatter than before.

Cinque: ... has she really slimmed down?

Tre: It's called rebound. After the doctor joined her circle, she became too happy and forgot to complete her manuscripts. She had to do three all-nighters to complete it for the next comiket. (Circles are groups of people who draw doujin. They also refer to clubs or similar groups in Universities in Japan. Comiket is the holy sacred event for all Otakus that happens twice a year. I went to the winter comiket in 2009 and it was amazing. Pilgrimage complete)

Cinque: ... i see. Did you get a wall booth this time? (Walls booths are given to major circles who do well since it helps them 'control' the flow of an over-excited crowd of fans)

Quattro: Unfortunately, no. Ah, Cinque, want to read my latest work?

Cinque: No thank you. I can never understand Yaoi.

FW: Neither can i.

Omake 3 (for this one, you have to know that Hayate is seen as a sexual molester and loves cosplay. Yes, it was actually said in the sound stage that Hayate squeezed the breasts of every girl in Riot 6):

Hayate: Hmm... Signum, don't you think you could shape up a little? You're getting fat.

Signum: !... I-... i don't think i'm getting fat, mistress.

Hayate: Really? Let me see.

Hayate grabs Signum's breasts, giving them a good squeeze

Signum: Mi-mistress? C-can you stop that? We're in the middle of the hallway!

Hayate: Hmm... i knew it, you're getting fat. You're breasts used to be firmer and more in shape. Soon you're going to be like Shamal who is more like fat.

Signum: ... I don't think that's the problem.

Hayate: It is! I just got the measurements down for your new cosplay-

Signum: I have to go!

Hayate: Ah! Signum, wait!... she's gone. Sigh, why is it that she always run away when things like this occur?... Hm? Shamal, did you get fat?

* * *

A/N: That last bit was a famous line made in Nanoha A's. She was pointing at Vita and she said "Listen to me!", while Raising heart fired a divine buster. So fans later said that Nanoha's motto is "Listen or be shot"

While i originally thought the idea of the doctor being the main villain, it soon became apparent that the doctor wasn't really the type to hate his own creations. Sure, psycho evil genius maniac is the archetype of evil, but it isn't really him. Don't ask. I didn't really put much thought in the actual villain. Actually i did. But the code name 'F' doesn't have to do with anything.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: This is the chapter where i realized that the name Avenir was already used. At first, i thought i could use it since it sounded cool. But then i was reading Force and saw that Touma (the main character of Force) was already using the Avenir name. I had to backtrack and re-evaluate my plot. As i had come so far, i was determined to stick to the Avenir name. But i had to compromise a few things, like being able to freely twist how the story should be. Instead, i had to anchor it still. If you understood what i just said, you're a writer.

With the newest chapter of Force, my timeline is completely throne off AND I WANT TO PULL OUT ALL OF MY HAIR. Sorry if stuff seems to messy.

* * *

_Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha_

_5ive_

_chapter 8_

**Shadow of the Avenir**

The first thing that Cinque decided to do when they got back to Mid-childa was to find the main reason behind the doctor wanting to capture her. After the fight at the inn, Cinque knew that she was now running out of time. She did not tell Nanoha that the doctor's objective was herself, since Nanoha would most likely try to confine Cinque in her house. Cinque had spent enough time in the Takamachi house to know that she shouldn't be staying there any longer than needed. It was extremely stressful to be constantly under watch by the ace of aces. One wrong move and Cinque could have forfeited her own life.

The last thing she needed was for Nanoha to be watching her every move. And so Cinque said her farewell to the Takamachi family at the transportation port, having declined the offer for a ride under the pretence that she contact Ginga earlier to give her a ride. However Cinque did not such thing. If Nanoha ever found out Cinque knew that she would be counting down to her death. Cinque left the space port, walking straight for the infinity library. There was something about the genetic beasts and the Huter der Zeit that was connected to her.

She did not know why, but it had to be. Once inside the infinity library, she floated up to her favourite secluded spot. She needed to find out about the Word of Time, though almost all of the data she pulled out about it were extremely new, and very limited. There was nothing in there that she did not already know about. But she did not want to give up. She pulled out more data on the Sankt Kaiser line and their knights. But it was as Otto had told Vivio, the Huterin der Zeit for Olivie's reign was a complete mystery.

This made Cinque wonder if she actually existed. Cinque did not know about her own original, though it was highly unlikely that her original had anything to do with this case. The doctor had mainly gathered the genetic information for the Numbers from various mages and people who displayed a certain power that the doctor thought would be useful. Of course, only those clonal culture type cyborgs were made from specific DNA to bring out the specific traits that their original had. Only Cinque and Nove were the ones who were clonal culture type amongst the free Numbers.

The others were pure culture, in which genetic material is gathered and the cyborgs would be created in a mass production manner. The pure culture method was better to create an army with, but the task of having special abilities appear would be prove to be harder. Using this knowledge, that meant that Cinque and Nove were considered special to the doctor. But who was Cinque's original? Nove's original is Subaru, who is in turn a clone of her mother, and therefore not particularly useful to the doctor.

Uno and Sette were also clonal culture types, but Sette was in rehabilitation and Uno was already working for the doctor and Cinque heard that Uno's original was actually the doctor himself. Due, Tre, and Quattro were also made from the doctor's DNA, but they were Pure culture type. Cinque was the first cyborg to be created from another person's DNA, and not only that, but using the Clonal culture method. That meant that the doctor really wanted Cinque's original's power. Now Cinque had to ask herself, who was her original?

"Nakajima-san?"

Cinque snapped out of her thoughts and looked to the voice that called her name. Floating up towards her was Yuuno Scrya, the chief librarian of the infinity library. The young man smiled as he shifted his glasses.

"Yuuno-san, it's been awhile."

Cinque bowed slightly.

"Ah, yes it has. I heard you came here not too long ago? Sorry but i was off-world for a conference."

Two days ago to be exact. And Cinque did not really expect the chief librarian to come all the way to help her in her investigations anyway.

"It's alright. Oh yes, I was with Nanoha for a short trip. She bought sweets for you too."

"Is that so? It's been quite some time since I saw Nanoha and Vivio. Work's been kind of tough lately."

Undoubtedly it was more due to his workaholic nature. Cinque knew from close friends of Nanoha and Yuuno (Amy Harlaown in particular) that the two of them were very close but never got into a relationship due to both of their workaholic nature. On a side note, Cinque knew that Yuuno's abilities really complimented Nanoha's. While Nanoha had extreme fire power in her spells, Yuuno had the absolute defence.

Cinque had once seen Yuuno create a barrier to deflect a rouge magic shot that was accidentally fired from a trainee without even batting an eye. She had looked up on Yuuno's statistical data and found that he excelled in fields of academia, healing, shielding and teleporting. Strangely enough, those were skills that Nanoha was either lacking in, or did poorly.

"What are you looking up on? Perhaps I can help you."

Yuuno offered. Cinque thought about it for the moment, before agreeing. If the chief librarian, and one of the best researchers and book worms of the TSAB, were to help her, her searches would be done much faster and efficiently than before.

"Hmm, the Lost Logia Word of Time and about the Sankt Kaiser line. Didn't your sisters from the church come by before to look up on them?"

"Yes, however I needed to know more. What they found didn't seem enough for my case."

"I see. I'll widen the search then."

Yuuno opened up more monitors that did parallel searches at amazing speeds. Seriously, Cinque was amazed. But there was one more thing she needed to know.

"Does the library contain the list of cyborgs that doctor Jail Scaglietti used?"

At that Yuuno stopped, though his screens did not.

"We do, but why do you want to look on that?"

"... I-... I'm curious about my original."

"I see. I think i can help you there."

Yuuno made another monitor appear which did a seperate search. It didn't even take minute before Yuuno got the results

"It says here that your original was... a young girl. Her name was Seria Avenir."

"Avenir?"

That name seemed to ring loudly in Cinque's mind. Avenir. That name was something that Cinque knew.

"Touma!"

She suddenly realized that the young boy whom Subaru had taken in like a brother and became a part of the Nakajima family. Touma's last name was Avenir, and he was currently going around planets for a sight-seeing tour. It was something that he decided to do after finishing school and though Ginga was rather reluctant, Subaru stood by Touma's decision. Cinque never knew that her original and Touma came from the same family. This was slightly awkward in some ways, but maybe it was blessing in disguise. She and Touma were related in more ways than just being adopted into the same family. They shared the same blood.

"Touma... oh yes, that child. He had grown a lot since I last saw him, I suspect."

"Yes... but what does he have to do with this case? And how is this Seria person connected?"

That name struck a familiar cord. Seria. Was it that her genes recognized that name? But how? She did not have the memories of Seria Avenir, nor did she hear of that name before. So why did she feel a sudden rush of relief, and pain?

"Seria... Avenir. Where is she?"

Yuuno stayed silent, closing his eyes and sighing.

"... Seria Avenir is dead. Date of Death, 0059 of the new calender."

* * *

"0059... that... that was the date I was made and activated."

Cinque felt a deep stab in her chest as the realization came setting in. Her original was killed by the doctor in order to gather the genetic material to create her. Cinque covered her mouth as she started to feel sick just thinking about it. Flashes of a scene covered in blood came flooding into her mind. Was this the scene in which Seria was killed? Was it true that blood can really retain the memories of those who once held it? Or was it merely a scene created by her mind? A form of shock that disturbed her greatly.

"Nakajima-san? Are you alright?"

Yuuno reached out to help Cinque, but she shook her head.

"I... I'm alright. I... I just need time..."

"I see. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"No... this was something i needed to know. Thank you. What can you tell me about Seria?"

Yuuno bit his lip, rather reluctant to continue after seeing Cinque's reaction to the the bit of information.

"Please."

"... Alright."

Yuuno turned back to the screen and pulled out Seria Avenir's profile. A picture of a young girl smiling. Her long silver hair blown by the wind as she stood in a field of flowers. Cinque saw Seria and only saw her face staring back at her. It was odd, seeing her own face on another person, but then again it was more like Cinque was the copy, taking the place of the original. Should such a sin be allowed?

"Seria Avenir, born 0046 on TSAB administrated world number 23, Ruwella. Father was Cedric Avenir, mother was Yui Avenir. Both worked with the Saints Church. Both were also found dead with Seria on 0059. Seria went to academy of magic in Ruwella where the church found out about her inherent magical abilities. Mage rank, S."

"'S'? A young thirteen year old?"

Cinque did not want to believe that. Especially not after seeing Seria's smiling picture.

"All records are from the church. It appears that she did have an amazing ability."

"... Rumble detonator."

"That was only one of her abilities, it seemed, though that single ability must have caught Scaglietti's interest."

Cinque was unsure on what she should be feeling. Should she be sad? or should she feel anger? The doctor, her creator, killed a thirteen year old and her family just to get this ability? Cinque was grateful for her birth, but if this was the price for it, just what should Cinque do about it?

"... There was a survivor of the Avenir murder."

Yuuno suddenly said.

"What?"

"Apparently, Seria had an older brother. A man by the name of Souma Avenir. He was away from the house when the incident occurred."

"A brother... where is he?"

"... Dead. He moved to Vaizen in 0060, married and had Touma. In 0074, the town was attacked by unknown assailants. Souma Avenir and his wife were killed, but Touma is still alive. I believe your younger sister should know more about this case."

Yuuno pointed at the screen and enlarged a certain name. Subaru Nakajima.

"Subaru?"

"Yes, it appears that your sister has taken personal interest in Touma's case. Perhaps it was to see if there was any possibility that Touma had other relatives that may possibly be alive. I'm guessing she failed to notice that Seria's genetic material was used in your birth."

"Subaru is the kind of girl who only looks for what she is searching for. So probably after seeing that Touma had no other living relatives, she gave up."

Cinque found it hopeless now. The entire Avenir family was gone except for Touma, a young kid who probably did not know anything about his family's history. Cinque now wondered if she should tell Touma that she is in fact a clone of his deceased aunt, and that his aunt had to die for her to be born. No, it was better not to tell him that. There were certain things that Cinque knew would cause a lot of confusion and pain for him. She would tell him when she thinks the time is right. But for now, she wouldn't be able to find the link between her original and the last Huterin der Zeit with this dead end lead.

"... Thanks for the help."

"Sorry I couldn't be of any more help."

"No, that's more than enough. Thank you."

Cinque turned to go, and that was when she saw someone familiar floating up to her. The young and rather mischievous face was one that was rather hard to forget.

"Silva?"

"Yo."

The lieutenant smiled, reaching Cinque rather quickly.

"I heard that you were still on the case and got attacked again."

Silva raised an eyebrow, making Cinque slightly ashamed.

"I- I'm sorry. But i just could not let it go."

"Hmm... i see. Well, we've done our own research and it appears that you are linked to this case."

Cinque thought she heard wrongly. She was connected? She knew that the doctor needed her, but Silva's case wasn't just the doctor, but on the genetic beasts. That meant that it was his division that requested the research done through the church. So how was their case connected to her? Could it be that they know that the doctor has need of her? Would she be locked up or used as bait to draw out the doctor? That was one job she detested doing.

"You know by now about the Huter der Zeit and the Word of Time, i presume."

Silva looked at Cinque, who nodded in reply.

"Good, then this would make things a lot more easier to get through. Do you mind if you followed me? I have something to show you."

Silva did not wait for Cinque to reply as he turned around and headed back toward the exit.

"A friend?"

Yuuno asked.

"A superior. Silva Vignale from the 78th special investigations division."

"Hmm... I see. Well, I'll try to get these done and send you what i can find."

"Thanks a lot, Yuuno-san."

Cinque bowed and left the library. It was at the point that Yuuno found something he heard slightly odd.

"... 78th special investigations division?"

* * *

Omake:

During the JS incident

Alto: I... I'm sorry sorry Fate-san! I couldn't protect anything!

Fate: That's okay. You did your best.

Alto: And Vivio too... How can I apologize to Nanoha so that she wouldn't kill me? (it is said that if you hurt the white devil's feelings, your life is forfeit)

Fate: She's not going do anything like that

FW: If Nanoha snaps, I don't think anything you say would matter anyway.

Omake 2:

Ginga: Hmm... this sewer system is far more extensive than before. Did they do some additional construction in here?

Teana (through the monitor): Ginga-san, let us meet at point alpha seven.

Ginga: Alright... Teana... I'm lost.

Teana: ... I'll guide you, so please keep your map active.

FW: Never leave Dojikkos alone in a maze

Omake 3:

Cinque (through monitor): Ginga, this is Cinque

Ginga: Ah, Cinque. What is it?

Cinque: I hear that you're going to see the doctor. May I ask to go as well?

Ginga: Hmm... well, you are involved with this case, so I guess you could.

Cinque: Thank you, ane-ue.

Cinque connects to Teana

Cinque: I managed to get Ginga to allow me to follow.

Teana: Good job. Now we don't have to worry Ginga being lost

FW: Teana... you're getting used to handling Ginga.

* * *

A/N: this chapter is a rather poor attempt to link this fic to the timeline of Nanoha universe. As I said before, I only realized that the name Avenir was used halfway through. With each new chapter for Force that is released, i have to keep revising the plot and story. This is getting crazy.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: This is where things start shifting into high gear. When thinking of a new device that Cinque could use, I looked to many game and anime references. The one that I finally settled upon it the multiple sword type. My original thoughts for creating the Guardian of Time was using the basis of 'Weapons master' and 'Blade dancer'. The original device I planned out could change into any weapon shape, and thus Cinque would earn the title of 'Weapons Master', however soon became apparent that using too many different weapons would cause confusion for readers, so it was dropped. The multiple sword type is often used in games and sometimes in anime as a magical swordsmen type. I do believe that the famous creator of the fan-made crossover film series, Dead Fantasy, Monty Oum, is going to using this style for Kairi to use in his newest installment.

But the main influence of the multiple sword style would have to be Nu-13 from BlazBlue. It is said that Nu-13's design was influenced by Cinque, and while I do see similarities, I don't really think so. Usually the multi-sword style is often used by the bad guys, since it would present a very tough opposition for the main good guys to face, but it also creates a cool fighting style that is similar to dancing.

* * *

_Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha_

_5ive_

_chapter 9_

**The Lone Wolf**

Sitting in Silva's car, Cinque silently watched the scenery outside go by quickly. She did not know where Silva was taking her, but she did not particularly care for it. Her thoughts constantly went over the new pieces of information she gathered. Avenir, the family that held a lot of secrets, was reduced to a young orphan kid who probably knew nothing about his family history, let alone how an ancient Belkan Knight was connected to his blood line.

"You thinking about your original?"

Silva asked.

"... I found out that I was made from a murder of an innocent thirteen year old."

"Life is never easy. But you can make up for it. You suspected that your original had something to do with the Word of Time, right? And you are right."

That caught Cinque's attention.

"How so?"

"My team had to dig through quite a lot to get this information, so you better be grateful."

"..."

Cinque wasn't feeling in any mood to play around with Silva this time, and the lieutenant seemed to get her intentions clearly.

"Okay... Well, what we found out was that your original was the descendant of the last Huterin der Zeit."

"The... WHAT?"

Cinque was so surprised by that that she could not help but raise her voice. That shocked Silva and he momentarily lost control of the vehicle, swerving on the road wildly before getting back in control.

"Ouch. That really hurt my ears."

"That's not the point! Y-you mean my original, Seria Avenir, is a descendant of a Belkan Knight?"

"Ah, i guess that would surprise anyone. Yes, your genetic material is that of a descendant. I guess you now know why the doctor is now chasing you."

"... Because my blood could unlock the Word of Time."

"Bingo, full points."

Silva laughed, though no one else was laughing with him, so he quickly shut his mouth.

"Anyway, the last Huterin der Zeit left behind a device. No one but those who hold her genes can use it, and we believe that this device is capable of telling us where the Word of Time is. We find the Lost Logia before the doctor, we win."

As if it were that simple. Cinque knew that things were never that simple. In fact, some of the best days she had at work were those when things were complicated. As a front-line mage, simple was never easy.

"So... where are you taking me?"

"We found the place where the Avenir family kept their things. Luckily they haven't been sold or destroyed. Amongst the items we found the Huterin der Zeit's device, and it was from there that we traced the line back to you."

"So you're going to use me to find the device."

"Well... that's one way of putting it. Still, it's not that bad."

Cinque seriously doubted that.

"... Look, I know things are not pretty. I know that this case is getting uglier with each passing day, but we need this to get our hands on a possibly powerful artefact."

"I know that already."

"... I see. As long as you understand that."

Silva drove the car straight into a warehouse district. It wasn't the fifth district ward, but it reminded Cinque of it. Only this warehouse had more people moving things about. Silva parked the car outside of a single warehouse and got out. Cinque followed him into the large warehouse, and she noticed that the warehouse had a couple of people within it. Some of them were armed with weapons and others were walking about tending to computers set up around the place.

"This is our temporary base where we're getting ready to move out to secure the Word of Time when found. We're also getting ready in case the doctor managed to create an army."

Silva explained, leading Cinque towards the centre of the warehouse where a group of scientists and engineers were working on a piece of equipment. Upon getting closer, Cinque saw that the piece of equipment was a glass case with a pendant within it. No, not a pendant. An Armed Device. A device of ancient Belkan technology. But unlike the armed devices that Cinque had seen with the Wolkenritter who worked with Yagami Hayate, this armed device wasn't shaped like a small version of a weapon. A circular shape with blades running down on the sides in a wing-like manner that seemed to tell anyone who looked at it that it wasn't a friendly device. The moment Cinque saw the device, the device seemed to act up, releasing a large amount of magical energy that cracked the glass and surprising everyone.

"A device that has its own magical output?"

Cinque could not believe what she was seeing. A device that did not require a mage to use magic was unheard of. Devices were mainly there to amplify and to direct a mage's magical energy.

"This is the first time it reacted to anything."

Silva mused, watching the engineers panic as they scramble about to find ways to get the device to settle down.

"... I don't think the device would listen to me."

Cinque shook her head.

"Why? You're the copy of the descendent. Surely it would respond to you."

"That is precisely the reason why it would not listen to me. I'm not its owner, merely a copy. A false imitation."

"... You wouldn't know until you tried."

Cinque looked up, and saw Silva looking back at her with a serious look. This was probably the first time she saw him with such a look. And it was because he had such a look that Cinque noticed for the first time that he was actually quite good looking, which added to the fact that his face was quite close to hers resulting in a slight blush.

"Look, people are filled with flaws. Be it from their actions or from the actions of others. There is no perfection in people. Whether it is the most powerful mage, or the lowest of the street rats, everyone has their own flaws. Some more than others, of course. But it is what we choose to do with our lives that had been given to us that would eventually lead us to where we would stand. What were you fighting for, Cinque Nakajima? Why did you defy my instructions to not get any more involved with this case? What motivates you to go on?"

Cinque thought about it. What pushed her. Her family, her friends, her right to be free and be alive.

"Have you forgotten them? Would you just discard them so simply all because you refused to take a step forward?"

Those words were sharp and struck Cinque hard. Taking a step forward. That was what she told herself some time before, that all she needed to do to change her life was to take that first step. Choosing rehabilitation rather than going to jail. Being adopted into the Nakajima family. Joining the TSAB as a front-line mage. All of these were great defining moments in her life. Each time she came to the intersection between decisions, she had always vowed to be brave and take that first step. Don't look back, don't be afraid, don't regret the choice. All she needed to do was to keep walking.

She looked to the menacing device that was struggling against the magical restraints that was applied onto it. It was a symbol of a way out, as well as being an obstacle. She knew that at her current state, she was powerless to do anything. She would not be able to stand up against Tre, or against the doctor. She needed the power, the strength to stand up for herself and protect what she holds dear to herself. The power of the Huterin der Zeit, a power that wasn't hers to hold. She stepped up to the device, the engineers moving out of her as she placed her hand over the device. The sheer magical power that was coming out of the device was overwhelming.

It felt like it was constricting around her wind pipe, choking the life out of her. Intense pain, suffering, and anger. These were the emotions that poured into her mind from the device. It was mourning for the lost of its owner. The lost of the people who rightfully held it. It knew what had happened to Seria Avenir and the rest of the Avenir family. It also knew that Cinque wasn't Seria, though they shared the same face and blood, it knew she wasn't the rightful owner. It hated her, trying to force her away from its side.

"... I... I know I don't have the right. But please, i need your strength. To avenge my original's death, to avenge Seria Avenir, your owner. I may be a poor imitation, and I don't want you to acknowledge me. All I want is for you to help me. I want to protect what is important to me, my family, my friends... and I want to prove that my existence is mine alone."

The device flared out once more in defiance, trying to force Cinque away, but Cinque held on firmly. She would prove that she has the right to stand where she is now. That she deserved to live as much as the next person. It did not matter if under her skin were circuits, wires and metal pieces. Ginga and Subaru showed her that even being a cyborg built for combat, they could still choose to live their lives in ways that they wanted.

"You're like me, aren't you. Unable to help your owners, only watching them from afar. Don't you hate it? Being unable to do anything? Being unable to help those who were dear to you? Do you want to let that pretender take away your master's honour? Answer me! **EINZELGANGER**!"

The device released a large wave of magical energy, blowing away everyone else but Cinque.

_'Initialisieren [initialize]'_

The cool stoic voice came from the device. Cinque knew what it needed. What it wanted.

"... Thank you... Access!"

_'Zugriff [access]'_

A bright light blinded everyone as the device transformed both itself and Cinque. Cinque's old barrier jacket of the cyborg uniform with her shell coat was now replaced with a Belkan military styled uniform, mini skirt, fingerless gloves, thigh high black socks, belt, boots, waist attached cape, her shell coat over, and a red ragged scarf that was loosely wrapped around her neck. In her hand, the device known as Einzelganger had become a single edged long blade. It was similar in style to Signum's Laevatein, but longer and thinner.

Hovering behind Cinque were more blades that were positioned like two wings stretching out from her back. At first, the entire barrier jacket was black. Einzelganger had sent an image into Cinque's mind of a warrior in Belkan knight armour that was painted black, utilizing Einzelganger in the same way she was. It was the Huterin der Zeit, the original owner and chosen knight of Olivie Segbrecht. But soon the barrier jacket changed colour to white, her shell coat still having the colour of dark brown, and the scarf still being red.

In her mind, Cinque felt as though the voice of the original owner was speaking directly to her. It was soothing and calm, putting all of Cinque's worries at ease. And with it, spells, skills and even memories all flowed into her mind. Not only did the device accept her, but the original owner as well. The Huterin der Zeit, known as-

"Serena Avenir... thank you."

* * *

"We're under attack!"

A sudden alert rang out throughout the warehouse, turning everyone's focus to the entrance, where a loud explosion erupted. Bursting through the entrance way were large genetic beasts. These were the same ones that attacked Cinque down at the fifth district. The soldiers all took up formation and started to fire at the genetic beasts. The creatures charged without care, ploughing through the soldiers with ease.

"These beasts... were they attracted by Einzelganger?"

Cinque looked at her new device in her hand. The device projected an image into her mind. It showed the Huterin der Zeit, Serena Avenir, using Einzelganger to gather the genetic beasts to her cause.

"... They were constantly searching for Einzelganger and the next guardian. And since i awakened Einzelganger, they have come."

Cinque understood now why they have reappeared. With the death of Seria Avenir, they set out to find the next person who would be the guardian, unaware that the ancient Belkan line of Kings had ended many years ago. The false pretender, the one who claimed to be the new guardian of the Word of Time, had caused confusion amongst these creatures. And now Cinque was the one holding onto the awakened device that was the symbol of their last master. She became the beacon to which these beasts would be drawn to. But because of the appearance of both her, and the pretender, the beasts were no longer able to be controlled.

"They're berserk. I cannot control them."

Cinque knew that she could not help them. They were simple creatures, driven by their instincts to find and guard the Word of Time. Cinque felt sad for them. Unable to determine what they wanted, unable to live for themselves. And even if they did live for their duty, they had lost that as well. The least she could do for them was to let them rest without worry.

"Einzelganger... please."

She looked to her device.

_'Ja Wohl, Mein Souveran. Fenrisulfr form.[Understood, my Sovereign. Fenris form]'_

Einzelganger split itself into two blades, and the rest of the blades that hovered around her faced forward in formation.

"Go!"

_'Schwert Regen [Sword Rain]'_

The swords shot forward, each cutting through a genetic beast with ease. More beasts came through the entrance, their roar deafening the warehouse. The swords reformed their formation by Cinque and flew out once more. A few embedded themselves in some of the charging beasts, unable to cut through the beasts' thick flesh.

_'Explosion'_

The swords each exploded, causing a large enough force that it knocked all things around far across the warehouse. The swords re-materialized in formation behind Cinque once more. Before the smoke could clear, three genetic beasts emerged. They were slightly injured, but still dangerous. Cinque rushed forward, raising Einzelganger to strike.

_'Schwertertanz [Sword Dance]'_

The blades around Cinque flew about the genetic beasts, each cutting at the enemy as Cinque moved in for the final blow. Working in unison with the blades, Cinque's fluid attacks were similar to that of a dance, one fluid motion that encompasses multiple slashes and stabs. A second genetic beast threw a punch at Cinque, but Einzelganger immediately responded without Cinque needing to tell it.

_'Schutz [Protection]'_

The swords immediately formed up, shielding her from the attack. Two additional swords stabbed the arm of the beasts, causing it to retract it's fist.

_'Explosion'_

The two blades in the beast exploded, completely severing the arm.

_'Riesen Schwert [Giant Sword]'_

The blades gather together, melding into one giant blade that Cinque took and swung it down with both speed and strength that it cut the beast cleanly in two, straight down the middle. The third beast tried to attack from behind, but the giant blade in Cinque's hand disappeared, in its place multiple blades appeared once more, surrounding the third beast in a sphere of swords.

_'Blut Sarg [Blood Coffin]'_

The swords all stabbed the beast at the same time, impaling the creature completely with numerous swords that kept materializing until the beast could no longer be seen. Standing there would be seen as a large mountain of swords.

_'Explosion'_

* * *

She understood what that meant, but the realization of what that information meant had caused her to be worried.

"... Are you sure of this, Yuuno-kun?"

She asked him, and he simply nodded.

"There is no 78th investigation division. I double checked all the databases in the TSAB. There was such a division, but they closed down five years ago."

"... That would mean... We need to find Cinque-chan now!"

* * *

Omake:

Nanoha: Raising Heart! Divine Buster!

RH: Yes, boss! Let's blow it up till nothing is left!

Nanoha: ... Boss?

Cinque: Shouldn't you be questioning something else?

Omake 2:

Nanoha: Excellion mode! Load Cartridge!

RH: WOOHOO! IT'S TIME TO BLOW UP A PLANET! BWAHAHAHA! YOU SUCKERS DON'T EVEN STAND A CHANCE NOW! HOPE YOU'VE SAID YOUR PRAYERS!

Nanoha: ... since when did you become so talkative?

Cinque: She isn't even noticing what that demonic device just said?

FW: It's called doping. And it involves both the device and the user. You could say that it is Nanoha's true voice.

Cinque: ... I see.

Omake 3:

Vita: Leave it to me to destroy the core. There is nothing Graf Eisen and I can't break

RH: If we're talking about destruction, we won't lose either!

Nanoha: 'We'? Me too?

Vita: Don't group me with the likes of you.

Omake 4:

Subaru: Gin-nee... one of your skills allow you to use your revolver knuckle like a drill, right?

Ginga: Well, in a way, yes. Why?

Subaru: ... Gin-nee! you can't! You're a dojikko so you shouldn't be going around with drills! It's dangerous!

Ginga: ... why can't I say anything back?

Cinque: Because it's the truth.

Omake 5:

Vivio: Mama... you look unhappy

Nanoha: Really?

Vivio: Yeah... Do you need to go pee pee? Because Vivio can bring you to the toilet!

Nanoha: ... er... no, mama can go by herself... more like I don't need to go.

FW: Kids are always trying to show off what they can do.

Omake 6:

Back during the JS incident, in the cradle

Vivio: Where have you taken my mama?

Nanoha: Vivio! It's me! Nanoha-mama!

Vivio: No... NO! I don't know why but you're too scary to be my mama!

Nanoha: ...Could my child raising methods be wrong?

FW: The Takamachi method of raising children is too similar to that of the Spartans

Vivio: So you're not my mama!

Nanoha: _... R.E.A.L.L.Y? I wonder if there are any bad children who don't listen to their mothers?_

Vivio: !... I... I'm sorry... mama...

FW: What the... Nanoha! you're scaring her! Stop that murderous rage! Woah! The background is on fire!

Vivio: But I'm not your real child!

Nanoha: No, even if you were born from other people, the Vivio who cries can not be fake or artificial... Always being spoiled, crying often, unable to stand on her own after falling, always picky about eating her vegetables especially carrots and peas, oh and peppers too, needing to use the toilet so often that I might as well make your bedroom a bathroom, putting her underwear the wrong way, wetting the bed and then blaming it on others, always running to Fate-chan when I want to lecture her making me look like the one at fault... they are all part of the Vivio I love.

Vivio:... Mama... she's really upset about those things? I think she's getting angrier...

FW: Quick! Apologize while you're still alive!

* * *

A/N: This sets the whole thing up for the last stretch.

Note, Einzelganger (it isn't exactly spelt that way but there isn't a key for two dots on top of the 'a' so deal with it) translates to 'Lone Wolf'.

Since Cinque's technique is still the rumble detonator, it is fully used in her skills. Just instead of small daggers, she uses swords. Bigger bang.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Einzelganger is meant to have the shape of Nu-13's emblem (the symbol that appears to represent the fighters in Blazblue) but skewered. It's basic form is of a sword. The device is a Belkan armed device, meaning it has to speak German. And like I said... I don't speak a lick of German.

* * *

_Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha_

_5ive_

_chapter 10_

**First Blood**

She had never flown by herself before, and to be honest it felt extremely satisfying. The wind blowing beneath her feet, the freedom to touch the clouds, the adrenaline rushing as she soared through the air at great speeds. She can understand why Nanoha really loves to fly so much. It was a feeling unlike any other.

_'"I can see someone's enjoying themselves."'_

Silva's dry remark snapped Cinque back from her ecstatic feeling. His irritated face on the monitor was something that Cinque found rather interesting.

_'"Do you feel anything awkward? No rejections from the device?"'_

"Not in particular. I think Einzelganger has grown rather fond of me."

Cinque replied, looking at the device. For flight, it had transformed into wrist and leg attached blades. The hovering blades had attached themselves in formation to form two wings. While they were wings in shape, they did not exactly do anything for flight. Cinque guessed it was merely to 'look' the part. Einzelganger had proved itself to be an extremely capable device, despite its age. Cinque found herself less exhausted even after using such powerful spells. Not only did it regulate her magic more efficiently, but it also supplied her with its own reserves.

Through the memories of Serena that were imprinted into Einzelganger, Cinque learned a few things. One, after the fall of Belka, Serena Avenir had chosen to seal the Word of Time and keep it well hidden. She infused Einzelganger with her magic and her memories, allowing her descendants to find the Word of Time should the need ever arise. Second thing that Cinque learned was that the Word of Time did not have a definite shape at all. It was something that changed its shape in accordance to whoever looked upon it. That was another reason why the Belkan rulers never allowed anyone to see it, but the Guardian themselves.

As such, the Word of Time had constantly changed its shape with each new guardian. For Serena, the Word of Time took the shape of a human being. Thus the Avenir family were guarding a lost logia in the form of a person without knowing about it. And that person had just gone missing. Einzelganger was made with a tracking function to find the Word of Time, but it needed someone who held the Avenir blood to use it. Only two people remained. Touma Avenir, the only survivor of the Avenir family, and Cinque, a mere copy of an Avenir.

Cinque thought of giving Einzelganger to Touma once this was all over, but it seemed that the device had quite stubbornly stuck itself to her. Another thing Cinque learned was that when Serena gave her magic and memories to Einzelganger, the device had recreated its owner's personality within itself. Thus when Cinque merged with Einzelganger, she sensed two different beings joining her. One was Einzelganger, and the other was a copy personality of Serena. This copy was what convinced Einzelganger to help Cinque, and also allowed Cinque to access the memories and spells available.

Cinque had honestly believed the last Huterin der Zeit to be a rather forceful woman, one who was strict and fierce. Well, in some memories Serena Avenir was a fierce and rather scary individual, but she was mostly a kind person. And most surprisingly, she actually looked a lot like Seria, which in turn meant Cinque looked like Serena as well. Talk about coincidences. But each of the three had fought for their own ideals.

Serena fought for duty and honour, never betraying her friend Olivie Segbrecht's trust. Seria, though she died young, had lived in hopes to live up to her family name, striving hard to earn the respect she needed to be recognized as Einzelganger's next owner. And Cinque was fighting for her family, friends and her right to exist. Perhaps it was because of this that Einzelganger accepted her. That she too fought for something that was so important to her that she would risk everything.

_'"It's good that there isn't any rejection. But make sure not to push yourself. You're still not used to that device, right?"'_

"There isn't need for concern."

She replied coolly, looking down where the transports were moving along the dirt paths in order to follow her position. Five transport trucks and two flying transports that had to fly low in order to prevent any risk of being spotted earlier than they should be. Only Cinque was flying high up in the sky to allow Einzelganger to get a good lock onto the Word of Time's position.

_'"There is plenty to be concerned about. Anyway, just make sure not to push yourself."'_

"Understood. Einzelganger."

_'Ja wohl'_

The device re-routed her magic to conserve her energy, thus cutting down on speed. Cinque did not know just what they were going to encounter, and while Silva did bring as many soldiers as he could, she still held doubts that they were going face a tough opposition.

_'"Sir, we're picking up a large AMF up ahead."'_

A soldier under Silva reported loud enough for Cinque to hear. AMF was an Anti-Magic Field, used often by the Doctor and his gadget drones. Cinque's old shell coat had an AMF field about it as well and it did not affect Cinque since she wasn't using magic, but her inherent skill. However this time she had Einzelganger, a magical device. While Cinque could still use her IS, she knew that its power wasn't great enough to deal with anything more than a single genetic beast. But Belkan Knights had training in AMFs, and Serena had given Cinque the memories of those trainings. Still, having memories of the training was very different from actually being trained in it. Ever since the doctor was locked up, the amount of training for AMFs were greatly reduced as gadget drones were no longer a large threat.

_'"Deploy the scouts. I want to know what is up ahead."'_

_'"Yes sir."'_

_'"Nakajima, you might want to hang back till we get a clear picture of-"'_

"No, I'll go with the scouts."

Cinque rejected orders once more, making Silva raise an eyebrow.

_'"Are you nuts, Nakajima? That is an AMF out there and I know you haven't had training in that area since the doctor was locked up."'_

"Then wouldn't this make the best place to get trained?"

_'"Wha-, are you even listening to yourself? Stand-down, and that's an order!"'_

"I apologize, but I must go ahead."

Cinque cut off the connection before Silva could say another word. She looked ahead towards the thick forest. Somewhere in there, the Word of Time was waiting. Not only that, but Cinque knew the doctor was there as well. She took in a deep breath, steeled herself, and flew head first into the AMF. At first, it felt like the air had been knocked out of her lungs and an invisible weight similar to a bus was weighing her down. She nearly dropped all the way down, but forced herself to remain in the air.

"So this is... how an AMF feels like... heavy..."

Cinque struggled to stay in the air, though it was proving a little too much for her small frame.

"Sorry, Einzelganger, but I need your help."

_'Ja wohl, mein Souveran. Initialisieren [Understood, my Sovereign. Initializing]'_

The device rerouted the flow of energy, allowing Cinque to stay in the air and lift the heavy weight off her chest. But it was still rather uncomfortable to be in the AMF.

"Never take things for granted."

Cinque muttered to herself, realizing how easy she had it going as a cyborg. She took a moment to get used to this feeling, before flying forward ahead of the scouts. While she did know that there were still forests in Mid-childa, she didn't realize one this large being so close to the capital city of Cranagan. This would be the perfect spot for the doctor to hide out, and the AMF signature was definitely his. She would find him, no matter what.

"Einzelganger."

_'Ja wohl. Breit Areal Suche [Understood, Wide Area Search]'_

There were two types of search techniques that mages use. One was a pulse type field that the mage would release from his or herself. The pulse field would detect anything within a small radius around the caster. The second type was using probes, like how Nanoha would use her pink orb probes to scout around an area. Those were remote summons that moved autonomously within the boundaries of the will of the summoner. Each summoner had their own variation of probes, though the most common would be a ball of pure energy since it did not take much energy to form a shape for it. However since it was Einzelganger, it decided to use small daggers instead that were similar in looks to Cinque's stingers.

The daggers flew out in multiple directions, each heading towards a specific location to continue its search protocols. The additional need to distribute her energy made Cinque feel unusually drained, even with the AMF affecting her already. She still wasn't used to having and wielding magic that was this foreign to her and her body. Unlike other artificial mages, combat cyborgs had to be tuned constantly in order to calibrate their frames and circuits to the skills that they were using. Science is ruled by strict laws and rules of physics and math, magic isn't.

Each combat cyborg with the ability to use magic, like Cinque, had to undergo complex maintenances to prevent the magic from destroying her frame or frying her own circuits. If the container wasn't suitable to control the magic within, the magic would go berserk and destroy whatever held it into order to get out. Most mages were born with magic, thus their bodies naturally adapted to it and using devices also helped. Cinque's body wasn't tuned for Einzelganger, but rather her own IS. This made things worse for Cinque who could feel the strains the device and the magic was having on her frame.

"Please... hang on just a little longer."

She begged her own body, gritting through the pain that was stabbing her the entire time. The probes completed their first round, before proceeding with their next areas.

_'Areal ein fertig. Suche areal zwei [Area one finished. Search area two]'_

"Come on... where are you..."

Cinque was starting to feel her consciousness slipping, and slapped herself to stay awake. The AMF was doing more than cancelling out her magic, it was slowly killing her. She covered her mouth as she began to cough. Blood covered her glove. She narrowed her eye at the stain, clenching her fist to hide the image from her mind.

_'Ziel finden [Objective found]'_

Einzelganger spoke up. She looked up and at the monitor that showed imaged from one of the probes. A small base with simple fortifications. Gun turrets, high walls, gadget drones, electric fencing and-

"Combat cyborgs!"

Cinque could not believe what she was seeing. Patrolling the base were several cyborgs, dressed in their uniforms and each carrying a high powered rifle. Things were getting from bad to worse. The doctor had started a mass production line of cyborgs. Each of those cyborgs looked lifeless, probably not having any sort of personality installed into them. They were like Sette, but with even less heart. They were simple minded hollow shells who would obey any order given unto them.

"Doctor... how far have you fallen?"

Cinque knew that the doctor wasn't exactly a law-abiding person, but he still had his morals. As an artificial mage himself, he had often tried to make sure that the Numbers were taken care of properly. In some prospects, he was a caring father figure. But this was beyond what the doctor would do. Seeing these hollow personalities made Cinque feel sad and sick.

"I will stop you and this madness, no matter what."

"That is 'if' you can reach him, that is."

Cinque turned upon hearing that voice from behind. Tre hovered not too far from her, her new blade device armed and pointed at Cinque.

"Tre..."

Cinque wasn't surprised by the older cyborg's sudden appearances any more. Cinque knew very well that Tre was someone she needed to defeat in order to get through.

"... Einzelganger."

_'Ja wohl. Fenrisulfr form'_

The blades that formed the wings detached from formation and pointed towards their enemy. Tre simply smirked, her mischevious eyes radiating with anticipation.

"Oho? What's this, you've gotten yourself a new toy? And you're able to fly. So tell me, Cinque, how does it feel to be able to stand above your weak former self? Do you feel drunk with power?"

Tre taunted Cinque. This made Cinque realize something. This Tre wasn't the same one Cinque knew before. The Tre that Cinque knew was more humble, never one to use underhanded tactics when facing an opponent. She used to be reserved, more straight forward and serious. But this person who was before Cinque held a more sadistic glee, maniacal eyes and detestable presence.

"... Who are you?"

Cinque raised Einzelganger at Tre, who laughed out loudly like a maniac.

"Ha ha ha ha! Who am I? Are you loosing your sight already dear Cinque? I'm your older sister, Tre! Who else could I be?"

"No... you're not Tre. Tre wouldn't be like this. Tell me now, who are you?"

At this, Tre dropped her laughter, narrowing her eyes at Cinque. Anger, hatred, spite. Such emotions from Tre were picked up by Einzelganger. It was now getting more dangerous.

"If you're so persistent, then why don't you find out for yourself?"

Without hesitating, Tre charged forward, using her IS to increase her speeds to a blur. Cinque barely had time to react as the distance between Tre and herself became reduced to mere centimetres within a second.

_'Schutz [Protection]'_

The blades formed a shield, blocking Tre's initial attack.

"Go!"

_'Schert Regen [Sword Rain]'_

Additional blades appeared, pointing themselves at Tre and firing at the cyborg, but Tre used her IS to retreat.

_'Jormungandr form[Jormundandr form]'_

The blades all linked with one another, forming one extremely long chain of blades. Cinque swung the giant chain around and then at Tre. The long chain shot at Tre, homing into its target. Tre flew to the side, dodging the chain, but the chain simply turned, aiming at Tre. The cyborg tried to fly away, but the chain was relentless in getting its target, changing its direction.

_'Schlange Irrgarten [Snake Maze]'_

The chain of swords extended , making Tre constantly turn till she found herself staring at the body of chain. The chain had chased her around till it surrounded her with its length. It was like a giant cocoon of blades the size of a small building.

"This ends here and now. Einzelganger!"

_'Ja. Blutig Blume [Bloody Flower]'_

The entire chain tightened in an instant, sinking its blades into Tre whose screams were muffled by the cocoon of swords.

_'Explosion'_

A number of swords exploded, causing additional damage.

_'Einziehen [Draw Back]'_

The chain retract, the remaining blades slicing across the damaged cyborg, causing further damage. Cinque did not want to do this, but such was the nature of her resolve and Einzelganger. It was too late to go back.

"...!"

Cinque immediately covered her mouth as she coughed up more blood. The strain of using an ancient and powerful device in an AMF when she wasn't used to it was too much for her frame.

"Cin...que..."

Cinque looked up, and saw Tre before her. Covered with blood and wounds that exposed her circuits, the older cyborg raised her cracked magic device and swung it down at Cinque. Both Cinque and Einzelganger could not react fast enough, resulting in the blow connecting.

"AHHH!"

Cinque was blasted by the energy from Tre's device, sending the small cyborg plummeting down towards the ground. She needed to recover immediately but her energy was completely spent. Einzelganger knew of the situation and immediately responded.

_'Sleipnir form'_

The blades reformed into their wing formation, slowing and controlling Cinque's descent. Einzelganger sensed that Tre was trying to attack from a distance, shooting multiple magic shots at the falling Cinque. Einzelganger steered Cinque out of the dive, swooping over the tree line as the magic shots exploded the ground.

_'Barriere [Barrier]'_

Einzelganger brought up a spheric shield to protect Cinque from a shot that nearly hit. But because Einzelganger was the one mainly in control due to Cinque starting to lose consciousness, the steering was stiff and it failed to realize that Tre was now diving down straight for Cinque.

_'Schutz [Protection]'_

Einzelganger used the swords to protect the blow from Tre when it finally realized what was happening. But the force was getting too much for the swords as they were starting to crack. The tables were suddenly turned against Cinque.

"Now you will die!"

Tre laughed maniacaly, her eyes showing nothing but pure insanity. Cinque could not see clearly, her vision starting to blur as her mind slipped in and out of consciousness. But she knew that this would be the end.

_'High density energy detected'_

Tre's device spoke up, making her look to the side, where a large pink energy beam shot towards her. Tre was forced to disengage, flying to a higher altitude. That magic trace was strong and it could only belong to one person. Flying into the combat zone at high speeds, in her signature white barrier jacket and partner, the only one who could cause such fear to sink into Tre could only be-

"... TAKAMACHI NANOHA!"

* * *

"Raising Heart, onegai."

Nanoha looked to her partner.

_'Yes, my master. Divine buster, set.'_

"Divine... BUSTER!"

Nanoha released the large amount of energy at Tre, forcing the cyborg further away from the injured Cinque. Reaching Cinque, Nanoha was surprised to see that the Nakajima girl was using a completely different device from usual, and her barrier jacket was different as well from the usual N2R combat cyborg uniforms. But now wasn't the time to be asking these questions.

"Cinque-chan, are you alright?"

Nanoha asked, though Cinque could barely respond, choking and coughing on her own bodily fluids. She would take that as a no.

"... Don't worry, help is here. You can rest easier now."

Nanoha looked over to where she came from and saw that reinforcements were arriving. The rest of the N2R team were arriving shortly, together with Subaru, Ginga, Teana and Sein.

"Cinque-nee!"

Nove immediately rushed to where Cinque was, obviously worried sick. While Nove herself wasn't in top condition, she was still fit enough to move around.

"This device... it's an ancient Belkan armed device. Cinque probably isn't used to using such a powerful device that her frame must be at its limits."

Teana noted. Luckily it seemed that Teana was suspecting something like this to happen and she brought along a small medical device, attaching it to Cinque.

"Cinque, you rest easy now, we'll deal with the rest."

Nanoha turned to go, but stopped when she felt someone tugging at her sleeve. Cinque was barely awake, but still managed to stop Nanoha.

"... Vi..vio?"

She asked. Nanoha looked over to the group, and nodded. The small blonde heterochromic girl popped her head out, placing a hand on Cinque to reassure her.

"I'm here. Mama said that since she needed to protect both of us, so I might as well come along too."

Cinque seemed rather confused, but let it rest as her energy was completely spent. Nanoha then turned her attention back to Tre, who was still flying at a higher altitude.

"So what now? Are you all going to attack me at once? Come on then! I'll take you all on!"

Tre shouted at them. Nanoha narrowed her eyes at the cyborg, lifting and pointing one finger at Tre.

"I would really want to cool off your head, but I'm not your opponent this time."

"What?"

Tre turned around when she realized that Nanoha was pointing behind Tre. Hovering behind Tre was a combat cyborg, her long flowing pink hair blowing in the wind. In her hands two large boomerang blades reflected Tre's image well.

"You... Sette!"

"Tre nee-sama. It's been awhile since we met, and you've turned into such a terrible state. Allow me to help you."

Without another word, Sette brought both of her blades down on Tre. The blow made Tre's device shatter and sent her plummeting down to the ground. Sette flew over to Cinque, and placed a hand on the smaller cyborg's hand.

"Cinque nee-sama. It's been quite awhile, and I hope I didn't make you wait."

* * *

Omake:

Rein: I don't think you should use Blaster mode. It's too dangerous, far more than normal and exceed mode.

Nanoha: I won't use it. It would serve a trump card only

RH: Yes... I'll show you how i can shoot down a star or two just by using Exceed mode, heh heh heh heh.

Rein: Aha ha ha, RH, your jokes are quite good.

Nanoha: ... She probably wasn't joking

Omake 2:

On set of Nanoha the Movie

Subaru: Hmmm, so this is the outfit going to be used for the movie?

Vivio: Yup!

Subaru: Ne~, isn't this barrier jacket different from your mother's original?

Vivio: Ah, you're right. Instead of a ribbon it now looks more serious. Less like a school uniform.

Subaru: I wonder why.

Nanoha: I wonder that as well.

Teana: ... should we really be commenting on this?

FW: It's more for a cooler look. Basically because the fans said so.

Omake 3:

Caro: Eeeeh~, so this is how Admiral Chrono looks when young

Erio: You're right, he was about your current height back then

Fate: He was about the same age as well.

Caro: Hmm... eh? Wait... why do i feel as though this is all being so nostalgic?

Arf: That's because the person inside is the same

Erio: ... HUH? The person inside? What the heck is that?

FW: Talking about the seiyuu (voice actress) being the same

Omake 4:

Vivio: Wa, mama's old school uniform!

Subaru: Oho? That looks really nice. Why don't you try it on?

Vivio: Can i?

Nanoha: Sure, why not. The screening wouldn't begin for another hour

Vivio: Yay!

Teana: Another hour?

Vivio dresses up in Nanoha's old uniform and grabs a prop that looks like RH

Vivio: I'm the new magical girl!

Subaru: Wa! So cute!

Vivio: Heh heh, I'm the next White devil! All shall bow before me and shake in fear!

Nanoha: ... Why isn't anyone saying anything?

FW: That's your job. But then again, isn't it true? Vivio is just the next generation in the making.

Omake 5:

During StrikerS, the famous scene where Nanoha blasted Teana away

Nanoha: Maybe i should cool down your head a little?

FW: I don't want her to cool down my head

Nanoha: Crossfire... shoot

Explosion as Teana is sent flying

Teana: KYAAA!

RH: Boss! Now's the time to finish her off with a Starlight break-

Nanoha: _RH, please be quiet for awhile_

RH: Alright, my master.

FW: ... when Nanoha gets truly angry, all sorts of things cool down at once.

* * *

A/N:

Einzelganger has four main forms (I'll explain them here even if they won't appear till later):

-Fenrisulfr form (Full attack, the blades act as though they are independent of the user, the name comes from the Norse Wolf, Fenris/Fenrir)

-Jormungandr form (chain whip, similar to Signum's device, it joins the blades to become one long chain, the name comes from the Norse world serpent)

-Sleipnir form (Wing formation. It has little attack power, but high maneuverability and increases speeds. Name comes from the six legged horse that Odin uses)

-Gleipnir form (support. It has no attack power what-so-ever. It acts as a support and is the only way for Einzelganger to connect, seal, or unseal to artefacts and other devices. It's form and name comes from the unbreakable silk thread that was used to bind Fenrisulfr when no other chain could)

Additional forms that don't make any appearances:

-Gungnir form (double bladed sword/spear. Focuses of balance of attack and defence. Named after the spear of Odin)

-Surtr form (A single giant flame sword. All out attack with low speed and virtually no defence. Named after the guard of Muspell in Norse legend)

-Valhalla form (Swords hover around in defensive mode like a wall. Reminiscent of Final Fantasy XIII Versus Noctus and his swords. Named after the hall in which Odin invites the souls of fallen warriors)

-Valkyrie form (Secret form? Supposedly this was the original form that Serena Avenir used, and it allowed Serena to earn the titles: Weapons master. Named after Odin's battle goddesses)

Einzelganger would have more forms later on, but these four are the basic ones that Cinque would use for this fic. There was a doujin artist who gave each member of N2R + Sein their own unique barrier jackets. Cinque's uniform was a white piece that was similar to Teana's only white. Long thigh socks, boots, and her shell coat over and a red muffler. While it was cool, i thought i should go further. Well, i went over excessive, i must admit. I'll try to draw up a sketch to get my thoughts straight, but i'm not artist, and yet i'm also a perfectionist... so yeah, i won't post any pictures till i can get the drawing down just right. Which may take forever.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: When writing this chapter, i was having my exams... in other words, i was desperate and nuts. I can only write a lot when I'm under stress. I was also aiming to complete this fic soon. What does that mean? It means it wasn't written properly. Do i care? Not really.

* * *

_Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha_

_5ive_

_chapter 11_

**Shadow of my Blood**

"I'm guessing it's because of the device she was using."

Teana explained, after the group had extracted the unconscious Tre from the forest. The damage was extensive, going further than just the surface. The Enforcer showed the group pieces of the shattered device Tre had been using.

"Some sort of magic was placed on the device, slowly changing the user. I'm guessing that whoever gave this device to her, must have wanted her to go berserk. But the amount and type of magic needed to change a personality of a cyborg this much in such a short amount of time is massive and rare. In addition, i cannot sense that much magic being placed into this device."

"So some sort of external force was influencing the effects?"

Ginga asked, and Teana nodded.

"Exactly. It would also explain this ridiculous AMF."

"You are right, it is far more draining than normal."

Subaru added.

"It would be more effective for you and Ginga to rely on your IS more than your magic."

Nanoha suggested, and the two sisters nodded. The ace of aces then turned to Cinque, who was conscious and resting on Wendi's board.

"Cinque-chan, you may need to sit out of this."

"No... There is something here that is important to both me... and Einzelganger."

Cinque looked to her device. The ancient Belkan device simply stayed silent.

"Is that item the Word of Time?"

Nanoha asked. Cinque nodded.

"It should be the cause of this huge disturbance, and the centre of it is the doctor."

"But who knows what effects this Lost Logia has? If you're not careful you might end up like Tre."

Teana warned. Cinque was well aware of the dangers of being this close to the powerful artefact, but it was still something she needed to do.

"I know... but only Einzelganger is capable of dealing with that artefact. As such, I must go."

"But your wounds-"

"Einzelganger."

Cinque turned to her device.

_'Ja wohl, mein Souveran. Gleipnir form'_

The blade transformed, becoming a thin and long string that coiled itself loosely around Cinque.

_'Sanktvertrauen [Faith in Saint]'_

The string glowed faintly, and soon all of Cinque's wounds closed by themselves.

"... That's convenient."

Sein said after blinking a couple of times to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Cinque struggled to her feet, swaying slightly but was supported by Nove.

"I'm alright, Nove."

She said, before turning to Nanoha.

"I can still fight. And i will not let this case go on any longer than it should."

Nanoha considered what Cinque said, and sighed.

"Fine. I don't think I can say anything more to change your mind. But you would have to abide by my instructions."

"... Alright."

* * *

The group stayed just outside the detection range of the base that they were going to assault. Each member checked their own equipments to make sure that they were ready for anything inside. Subaru and Ginga switched over to use their IS, something that Cinque knew the two of them detested to use often. Their pupils changed coloured to the combat cyborg colour of gold. Nove was in-charge of watching Tre with Wendi, Nove being injured and Wendi acting as a fall back line and immediate action medic with her ability to go into fire zones at high speeds to retrieve injured people. Sein had gone ahead to scout the base with her IS deep diver.

Dieci checked her cannon, setting it up on a mound with a clear view of the base. Sein would also act as a spotter for Dieci to aim her device at. Nanoha checked Raising Heart, as well as Vivio, who had used her device, Sacred Heart, to transform into her adult form. The moment Einzelganger saw Vivio in her adult form, it immediately started up. Startling everyone, light emitted from the pendant, projecting an image of a young woman with long flowing white hair. She looked like Cinque, but taller and with two whole sky blue eyes. Dressed in metal armour, the image went down on one knee before Vivio.

_'Mein Sankt Kaiser.'_

"A-ah? T-the image spoke!"

Vivio was slightly frightened, using her mother as a hiding place even though Vivio and Nanoha were around the same height with her in her adult form. The image blinked, before smiling sadly.

_'I see. You are not my lord. I should have known, but yet I still fail to see it.'_

The image got back to its feet.

_'I apologize, young lady, for surprising you. I am merely surprised by how much you remind me of someone dear to me.'_

Vivio peeped over her mother's shoulder, slightly nervous about the whole thing.

"Y-you mean... Sankt Kaiser Olivie Segbrecht?"

When Vivio mentioned that name, the image seemed to brighten up. Literally.

_'Yes, the name of my lord.'_

Cinque noticed that Vivio was feeling rather nervous about explaining, so Cinque decided to step in.

"Serena Avenir. Olivie Segbrecht died in the war of the Saint Kings many years ago."

The image turned to Cinque and smiled.

_'I know. I saw the fall of the cradle from the sacred tomb where I guarded the Word of Time.'_

"... Takamachi Vivio, the girl here, is an artificial mage, made from the genes of Olivie."

The image took a moment to understand what was said, then turned to Vivio.

_'... I see. Indeed, it appears that she does hold the same countenance and presence as my lord. I would not question whether it is right for your existence, as it seems the new owner of my legacy is one who is born from my blood yet isn't of my family.'_

The image turned back to Cinque.

_'I can understand how much you want to live, even being a mere shadow of a person. I admire your valour and determination. Such traits would make you a Knight under Olivie no matter the circumstances of your birth. But she is gone, and so has the time of our glory.'_

"But there is still one more unfinished business."

_'Yes. The sacred power, the Word of Time. I have sealed a large portion of its power, but with the presence of the pretender the Word of Time had begun its countdown.'_

That word was troubling, making everyone fear the worst.

"What is the countdown?"

_'Because it has been sealed up for so long, the power within it has increased to an exponential amount. The Word of Time would not recognize the pretender and the seal would be undone in such a manner that all of the energy would cause an explosion large enough to destroy five worlds.'_

That wasn't good. Not good at all. Cinque was determined to not let that happen.

"Then we must find another way."

_'Yes. As I was the one who placed the seal, Einzelganger would be sufficient. But one more key would be necessary to be present as well.'_

"Key?"

The image nodded, pointing to Vivio.

_'It may be a blessing in disguise, lady Takamachi. You carry the second key. You carry the blood of the Saint Kings.'_

"And that is the second key?"

_'Yes. In order to prevent either the Guardian or the ruler to abuse the power, two keys were used to seal the power. It was also because only using one seal would be insufficient to contain the power of the Word of Time. As such, both the guardian and the ruler must be there to unleash the seal. The energy contained would disperse calmly and not cause any disturbance, though since there isn't any successor to the throne, the Word of Time would disappear.'_

"Disappear?"

_'Yes. In a way, the only thing keeping the Word of Time being bound to this dimension is the with the successions of rulers and their guardians. But perhaps it is for the best. People should not be ruled by a symbol of power that cannot be defined. Words can control people, but it can never control their lives. Same can be said for lady Takamachi, and you, shadow of my blood. You are both people who should not exist but yet you do. Fought for your own right to live and found happiness within those lives. I entrust my all to the two of you. End this nightmare and the legacy of the Saint Kings.'

* * *

_

Omake:

Hayate: Hmm... this really looks good. Vita!

Vita: What is it, Hayate- Geh!... H-Hayate... what is with that frilly looking outfit?

Hayate: What, you say? Isn't it obvious? It's your new-

Vita: GAAAAHH! NOOO!

Hayate suddenly takes out a harisen (paper fan used to hit people) and whacks Vita with it with such force that Vita is sent into the ground

Hayate: Listen to me, Vita... bad girls get hit, you know.

FW: ... isn't it better to say that before actually doing it?

Omake 2:

Cinque: What is with that doujin? Magical girl, Cinkuru?

FW: Ah, that one is mainly based on you becoming a magical girl. Pink frilly clothes an a childish opening line.

Cinque: ... do i even want to know what that line is?

FW: ... no, not really.

Cinque: I see... then i won't ask.

FW: Ah, it is better for you to accept that idea.

Cinque: HUH? What do you mean by that?

FW: ... do you want a repeat of the first chapter's Omake?

Cinque: Geh... no, not really.

FW: That's what i thought. Oh, the uniform was supplied by Hayate.

Cinque: WHAT? Since when did she get my measurements?

FW: ... Did she feel you up too?

Cinque: Not that i recall-... wait, Ane-ue did say that Hayate-san dropped by to see Chichi-ue last night while i was asleep... you don't mean-

FW: ... isn't that considered sexual assault?

Cinque: GGAAAHHHH! I've been assaulted! Now i can't get married!

FW: ... I'll take you.

Cinque: You would? But wait... why such a long pause?

FW: Ah... well, after you grow a bit more.

Cinque: ... you seriously have death wish, don't you?

Genya: NOOO! I WON'T LET ANY GUY TOUCH MY DAUGHTERS!

FW: Just go away. Hey Nanoha! There's a large bug here who wants to go after Vivio.

Nanoha: BLASTER 3, LOAD CARTRIDGE, STARLIGHT BREAK!

RH: I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!

Genya was soon nothing more than a speck of dust

Vivio: Eh? did someone say my name?

FW: No, not really.


	12. Chapter 12

_Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha_

_5ive_

_chapter 12_

**For What we Fight for**

"Cinque nee-sama, are you sure you're alright?"

Sette asked as the operation had started. Sette was given the role of acting as a guard for Cinque and Vivio. Nanoha had gone on ahead with Ginga, Subaru, Teana and Sein. From where Cinque was, she could already hear the explosions and see the fires.

"I'm alright, Sette. But why are you here?"

Cinque thought that Sette still had a month in rehabilitation before she was allowed to be released.

"Takamachi-san approached me, asking me to help you as you were in trouble."

Sette replied in her usual emotionless manner. But Cinque could tell that this time Sette had gained some form of personality. Still, for Sette to attack Tre willingly, something must have changed in Sette.

"You attacked Tre rather forcefully."

"I had no choice. Tre nee-sama was acting out of behaviour and it would be best to neutralize her as quickly as possible."

"I see... Sette, what do you plan to do after all of this?"

The younger cyborg looked up in thought, before looking back to Cinque to answer.

"I... I never thought about it before, but in rehab, I found myself interested in seeing new worlds. Is this odd?"

Cinque smiled, shaking her head.

"Not at all. If that is what you want, then you should follow it with all of your heart."

"My... heart?"

"Yes... I'm not talking about the physical thing."

Cinque quickly said when she saw Sette place her hand against her own chest.

"It is something that you really wish to do, something that isn't really governed by logical thinking."

Sette only seemed to be even more puzzled by Cinque's explanation, and so Cinque turned to Vivio, who was also finding it hard to explain.

"Eto... It's basically like doing what you want to do. You would follow your own rules and would not listen to what others would say when they disagree."

Vivio tried to explain it in that sense, though Cinque found it slightly off.

"Vivio... that makes it sound like being a delinquent."

"Ah... you're right..."

Vivio stuck out her tongue in a playful manner.

"... I understand. So I would just have to do things the way I want... within boundaries of normality and rules, am I correct?"

Sette looked to Cinque who nodded.

"Exactly... Okay, it's time. Let's move in."

Cinque looked over to the base. Long range bombardment by Dieci had taken out most of the primary defence system, letting Nanoha, Subaru, Ginga and Teana to attack the base head on. Cinque pulled out a monitor overlooking the base. She pointed a wall on the side of the base where the defenders had pulled out to deal with the attacking force.

"We'll break through there. Einzelganger."

_'Ja, Sleipnir form'_

Her device switched to its high maneuverability form, the blades that hovered around her getting into their wing formation. The three flew at a low level, nearly skimming across the forest floor as they made their way towards the base. Cinque led the way, using the trees for cover as the three soon reached the wall of the base.

"They could still sense us. We need to be careful."

Cinque warned. She spotted a small ventilation shaft that she could use to enter, but Sette and Vivio were too large to use it. Vivio could switch back to her normal form, but Sette would be a problem. But she spotted a service door nearby. She turned to the other two with her.

"I'll sneak in and open that door. Wait for me here."

Vivio and Sette nodded in reply.

"Einzelganger."

_'Ja.'_

The device deactivated itself, allowing Cinque to have a smaller form. Cinque placed a hand on the metal grating, infusing it with energy and letting it explode in a small controlled explosion. This allowed her to climb into the shaft and snake her way through. Reaching the other end, she pushed the latch open and jumped out right in the middle of a chaotic scene. The defending combat cyborgs were rushing to the opposite wall to repel Nanoha and the others, though Cinque knew that it was futile to stop the ace of aces.

"... I'm still rather exposed."

_'Schatten [Shadow]'_

Cinque's form shimmered and soon became transparent. While it was a useful ability, Cinque noticed that this skill actually gave out a large magic reading. Quattro's ability must have already detected Cinque by now, but it was a risk that Cinque was willing to take. She just needed to get past the wall defenders. She reached the door and found an electronic keypad. She held her hand against the pad and let the circuits within explode, causing the door to open.

"Cinque? Where are you?"

Vivio looked around for Cinque, who was still under the cover of her skill.

_'Entscharfen [deactivate]'_

Cinque reappeared before Vivio and Sette, surprising the young Takamachi.

"C-Cinque?"

"Come on, we don't have much time."

Cinque led the two into the base. While the outside looked small, the interior was a large network of hallways, corridors and room that stretched deep under the ground. There were few combat cyborgs left inside, and those within were all caught by surprise, letting Cinque and Sette dispatch of them quickly.

"The doctor seemed to like using these dolls more than the gadget drones."

Sette said, kneeling over a fallen combat cyborg. Each of these cyborgs had the same face, the same expression and the same mindless personalities.

"They are more flexible, and given basic mental capabilities they would prove to be more effective at stopping enemies than gadget drones who follow a single order without a plan."

Cinque explained, wiping the blood off her cheek. This wasn't the type of battle she was used to, nor was it one that she wanted to go through again. Fighting and killing those whom she could have called 'sisters'. Each time she struck one of these down, she saw the face of one of her own sisters. Nove, Wendi, Dieci, Otto, Deed, Sein, Sette... herself.

"... Come on, we should be nearing the centre."

The trio continued on till they reached a large pair of iron doors. Cinque had to wonder why was it that such doors were made. It was impractical to have such large doors that clearly shouted 'this is the last door, this is where the last boss is', or something along those lines.

"... Here we go."

Cinque pushed the doors open, and was immediately greeted by a familiar face. A face that Cinque had hoped not to face just yet. Shifting her glasses, Quattro stood before them together with ten combat cyborgs, all holding large rifles pointing at them.

"My my, Cinque-chan. Did you honestly think that you would be able to sneak into this base without being detected?"

"... No, I did not expect to go unnoticed, especially by you, Quattro."

Cinque readied her weapon. Quattro smiled, and stepped to the side, as did her combat cyborg guards. This action puzzled Cinque. Was Quattro letting them go through?

"Don't get me wrong, Cinque. While i do not particularly like you, i do not like being used either. I knew what was happening to Tre nee and the doctor. Whoever that 'F' person is, he certainly doesn't want the doctor to use the full power of that artefact, going so far as to affect the doctor and the others."

Quattro pointed to her given device, which was broken apart piece by piece, probably by Quattro herself.

"... Then why didn't you stop the doctor?"

"By the time I realize what was happening, it was too late. The most I could do was to prevent myself from falling too far. And since I cannot do any harm against the doctor... unlike some traitors... I would have to just do my job. And it appears that my attention is too focused on those attackers outside. Too bad I can't focus on what's happening inside the base. Oh well."

Without another word, Quattro left the room with her cyborg escorts. Cinque silently thanked Quattro before hurrying through the room. Finally reaching the end, Cinque came to see the person whom she needed to stop. With his face contorted with pure insanity, there was nothing left of the man she once called 'father'.

"Doctor Jail Scaglietti..."

* * *

Cinque Nakajima had long respected the man who created her. He was the one who gave her this life that she loved. Because of him, she could have a family, meet friends, experience happiness, share sadness. Because of him, she lived a life. It did not matter if he became a horrible criminal hated by society, it did not matter if he was responsible for the lives of so many people, shattering lives, families and friends. She respected him. But now the man who stood before her was no longer the same man whom she had followed many years ago. He wasn't the same person who led a revolution, wasn't the same person who praised her, who cared for her and became her first father figure. This man who stood before her was no longer a man.

"... Doctor Jail Scaglietti. You are hereby placed under arrest for escaping prison, the death of innocents and the illegal production of an unauthorized armed force. Put down your weapons and surrender peacefully."

Cinque highly doubted what she said would even be registered by the insane man. And she was right. He did not answer her, merely cackling and laughing. Uno, who stood by his side, was merely silent. Her gaze was blank, lifeless and unresponsive. It was then that Cinque noticed someone else in the room. Standing right at the back was a small young girl. Dressed in a single snow white piece dress, she looked at Cinque with a strange warm smile. Her long snow white hair, and her mismatched eyes told Cinque of only one thing, she was the Word of Time. She had facial features resembling both Olivie and Serena. A peaceful presence and playful smile. She wasn't looking at the doctor, not at Uno, not at Sette. The young girl was looking at Cinque and Vivio. She was waiting for them.

"Wait for me... Einzelganger!"

_'Ja wohl, Fenrisulfr form'_

The swords spread out, each pointing towards their enemy. Uno raised a hand, and combat cyborgs came out from hiding, surrounding the trio. Sette and Vivio immediately took stances, taking on the enemy head on.

"Cinque nee-sama! Leave this to us! Go on to take on the doctor!"

Sette shouted, throwing her boomerang blades at the enemy, carving open a path for Cinque.

"Go! Cinque-san!"

Vivio shouted, throwing a punch at a cyborg and sending it flying into the air. Cinque did not hesitate, knowing the risk of waiting too long.

"Einzelganger!"

_'Ja'_

Cinque charged forward, wielding the two swords in her hands. With another raise of her hand, Uno called forth gadget drones, blocking Cinque's path to the doctor. But Cinque did not stop.

_'Schwert Regen [Sword rain]'_

The swords around Cinque flew straight through and stabbed the drones blocking her.

_'Explosion'_

Each sword that stabbed a drone detonated, creating a large fireball. Bursting through the flames and smoke, Cinque charged straight for the doctor.

"Cinque! Come and bring your best!"

"GAHHH!"

Cinque brought her swords down on the doctor, who used his gloved hands to stop the swing and absorb the full impact. Cinque gritted her teeth as the clash of the two devices created a large vortex of powers.

"Grr... come on! AAAHHH!"

Cinque summoned all of her strength, pushing through the barrier that the doctor created.

"Cinque, Cinque. You can never defeat me! You never could and you never will! I created you!"

"But you don't control my life! I will decide how i live my own life!"

Cinque screamed at the top of her lungs, desperate to get through. She would not give up. Her life, her determination, she had lived her life to the fullest till now and she want to live even more. The past she had, the faces of family, of friends. She did not want to lose them. The strength of her emotions transferred to her device, increasing its power. From the side of the blades cartridges ejected, increasing the power exponentially. The barrier finally shattered, the blades finally getting through.

**"EINZELGANGER!"**

_'Explosion'_

The swords exploded, sending both the doctor and Cinque to fly away. Cinque hit the ground hard, her head slightly disoriented. Shaking it off, Cinque got back to her feet and saw that the doctor was lying unconscious to one side. She looked back and saw that Vivio and Sette and more or less cleared out the rest of the cyborgs, and Sette and taken Uno under custody. For now, it was over.

"... It's over."

* * *

Omake:

Cinque: That Nano doujin... there was some thing about Shamal-sensei being a... Yanmama? What's that?

FW: That's the name of a bubble tea shop owner down in North Vancouver BC Canada

Cinque: ... huh?

FW: Just kidding... not really, but the Yanmama in Shamal's case is the shortened version of 'Yankee ma ma'. Basically a delinquent who became a mother at a young age.

Cinque: Oh... i see... is that true?

FW: Want to find out?

Cinque: ... Not really. She looks scary when angry.

FW: ... Which doujin did you read again?

Cinque: Your Nano collection

FW: ... Yeah, she's scary.

Cinque: I just realized something. Your definition of what a Yanmama is... doesn't Nanoha fit into that category?

FW: ... Mother at a young age... but was she a delinquent? Let's see... she did do quite well in school, but she was clearly extremely destructive. Couldn't connect to her peers well before discovering magic (according to the movie), and can snap quite easily. Yup, i think she qualifies.

Cinque: ... You know Nanoha is right behind us.

FW: I know.

Nanoha: FW, Cinque-chan, let's have a very **_nice _**and **_long _**chat... shall we?

Omake 2:

Hayate: Hi, Cinque-chan, FW-han

Cinque: Han?

FW: Kansai-ben... it's an accent she has.

Hayate: Ohya, you know about the kansai-ben?

FW: Of course. And also the fact that you came Osaka.

Hayate: Which 'me' are you talking about?

FW: The one inside

Cinque: Inside?

FW: I'm not explaining that again. And you're planning something aren't you, Hayate?

Hayate: What can you mean by that?

FW: The first thing you said wasn't related to cosplay.

Hayate: Ah ha ha! What kind of a person do you think i am, FW-han? So, Cinque-chan, why don't we go get something nice for you to get into-

Cinque: NOOO!

FW: ... Here we go again.

Cinque: Stop- Don't touch me! Hey! That's not my breasts!

Hayate: Ufu fu fu, you can't run from me, Cinque-chan. I'll make sure you get all nice and round breats. Just look at Signum. She's like that from my special service!

FW: Then what about Vita?

Hayate: She can't be helped

Omake 3:

Cinque: That was terrible.

FW: Well, sorry to hear that.

Cinque: You were there and you didn't do anything!

FW: I did... thanks for the meal.

Cinque: Huh? What meal-... pervert.

FW: What can i say, I'm a guy. Man, Yuri action can be hot... never really figured you to be an U-ke (submissive) character though.

Cinque: Who-... nevermind. Hm? who's that?

Steps in a blonde twin tailed small girl in goth clothing.

FW: ... Rachel Alucard?

Rachel: Oh my, even this wasted piece of existence can recognize me when I'm from the same category as this sad excuse for a story.

FW: I wrote a Blazblue fic, played the game, and yes, i do know who you are.

Rachel: Like i would bother myself with something and someone so insignificant as yourself or your worthless writings. But who is this wonderful specimen?

Cinque: Er... FW? Who is she? And why is she getting so close to me?

FW: A vampire. She probably likes you.

Cinque: EH? WHY?

FW: Same tastes as Hayate... actually, Hayate, you can stop acting now. And that cosplay is really bad. You're forgetting the cat and bat.

Rachel/Hayate: Eh? Why? Just when i was so close!

Cinque: Hayate?

Rachel/Hayate: Tch, dammit. I'll have to try some other way. How did you know it was me anyway?

FW: ... The person inside is always the same, no matter what.

Cinque: Really, what is with that 'person inside'?

FW: ... Ever wonder why you feel like Otto and Deed and even Shario seem so similar to you?

Cinque: ... at times, yes.

FW: Ever had dreams of having flaming red hair and chasing after your adoptive brother while living in a giant mansion with two crazy maids (Tsukihime), or having pink hair, being afraid of heights, being the school council president of some rich people school and falling in love with a butler in debt who has a tremendous amount of bad luck (Hayate)?

Cinque: ... okay, i think i get it.

FW: Good.

Rachel/Hayate: Ara, FW-han, you're breaking alot of walls today, aren't you?

FW: In more than one sense, yes.

* * *

A/N: Actually, I like Sette. As surprising /or unsurprising as that sounds, it is true. I like Cinque and Sette, and i actually like Due. I was planning to have Due come back from the grave to help Cinque together with Sette, but come on, coming back from the grave? That's too much. Well, maybe not so much in fanfiction. I'll probably use that idea in the sequel.

The thing i had planned for Einzelganger, was to be a simple device without any intelligence, but then it wouldn't be interesting. Intelligent devices were mainly founded during the Mid-Childan time period. Taking the information from the Wolkenritter, the Armed devices of the ancient Belkan period probably didn't have much independent will. But Einzelganger isn't just a normal device, so i had to make up stuff. Looking at Vivid, the time period of the war of the Saint Kings was fought with swords and... fists? There was much talk about how Olivie and Igvalt were both martial artists who trained and fought each other as equals. A simple conclusion would be that the Saint Kings fought using their body, not really a weapon... how weird is that? But they probably had some other weapons to use. Not that i know of any.

I absolutely have no idea how to write war cries into letters... rah? gah? Gar? No no... MOE! that's my war cry


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: This is the last chapter, and i apologize for being rushed. Explanations at the end.

_

* * *

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha_

_5ive_

_chapter 13_

**Where Time Stood Still**

As Sette watched over the doctor and Sette, Cinque walked towards the young child together with Vivio, unsure of what would happen. But for now Cinque needed to do what needed to be done. Who knew what would happen, or if the explosion wouldn't occur if she and Vivio were the ones to unseal it. The thought of the large amount of energy being kept in such a form being released all of a sudden did not sound all that good. But more than that, Cinque and Vivio were witnesses to a long lost treasure. An artifact said to be so powerful that it would make people bow before it.

It wasn't a normal Lost Logia, that much was obvious. But what exactly was it? Cinque did not know what sort of abilities were kept within this Lost Logia but she did not seem to care at the moment. Just seeing this girl made Cinque feel as though nothing else in the world mattered. A presence so grand, so pure, so holy. It was something that could not be clearly described in words. All Cinque knew was that she was transfixed on the small girl and nothing else seemed to matter.

But a calm and reassuring voice woke her. The voice of Serena within her mind told her to not lose focus. Pure as the Lost Logia may be, it was still a threat. Cinque shook her head to regain her thoughts.

"... Einzelganger."

_'Ja, Gleipnir form'_

Her device turned back into a long thread, coiling around her arm.

"We'll start to unseal the Word of Time. Are you ready, Vivio?"

Cinque turned to Vivio, who nodded. Cinque looked back at the small girl, and noticed that the girl had a look of understanding, nodding her head and still maintaining her smile.

"... Let's begin."

_'Friesetzung [Release]'_

The thread stretch itself, coiling itself around the Word of Time, bathing in a pure bright light emitting from the girl. Cinque could feel a large amount of power under the seals trying to push out. No, it wasn't just large. This feeling threatened to suck Cinque in. An endless, bottomless abyss of pure power. The pressure acting against her was great, too great that Cinque felt her frame crack.

"Sacred Heart!"

Vivio summoned her power and added it to Cinque's. The combination of the two slowly began to unravel the multiple levels of seals placed upon the small girl. Slowly, but surely, the seals began to unravel, releasing an ever increasing amount of power. The pressure released also increased by ten fold with each layer peeled off. The light being emitted from the girl also increasing with each passing moment. However even if the power was increasing, Cinque could tell that dangers of an explosion was decreasing.

Releasing the pent up pressure was the right thing to do, and a sense of relief washed over Cinque. However she still did not relax. The number of seals on the Word of Time was unbelievable, but it was suitable for the amount of power that the Lost Logia could produce. A sudden piercing sound caught Cinque's attention. For a short moment, she turned. She saw Sette, with a blade through her chest. Sette did not seem to realize the situation, looking down at the blade that was through her chest, then up to Cinque.

"..Nee-...sama..."

The blade was pulled out, and Sette slumped to the ground.

"SETTE!"

Cinque wanted to let go, but the power of the Word of Time forced her body to concentrate on the Word of Time.

"That's right, Nakajima. You need to focus on the Word of Time. You don't have time to look elsewhere."

That voice. Cinque knew that voice. Walking step by step, his footsteps resounding in the room like bells, slow and menacing. Soon, he stood right behind Cinque. Taking a lock of her hair, he sniffed at it.

"Ah... the scent of the Huterin der Zeit. And also standing with you is the last Saint King, Olivie Segbrecht. Such a joyous event and I just could not stay away."

His foul breath, his false smile, his hungry eyes.

"Silva..."

His eyes held that same playful look, but it was more evil. A dark lust and crazed hunger. Silva Vignale. Dressed in ceremonial belkan military uniform, tunic, pants, boots, sleeveless long coat with a hood. Metal arm and shin guards protected his arms and legs. Wielding a short sword and his large gun, he stepped over to Vivio, placing his knife against her throat.

"You don't sound surprised, Cinque. That makes this kind of dull."

"... I knew about you. Even before Nanoha told me."

Silva smirked, nodding his head as though he understood.

"I see I see. I knew that trying to bluff the ace of aces was futile. Ah, but you said you knew before that? So? What gave me away?"

"... I know that the 78th division doesn't exist. And it seemed strange that you knew a lot about the case when others don't. Even for a special investigation division, at least one other division should know about it."

"Hmm... I guess the church doesn't count?"

"... I checked on the records of the church, using my sisters as a connection. There were many problems with your request documents. Normally the church wouldn't bother with looking through those documents, and special investigation divisions don't usually use the church to search for information."

"Oh? What a smart little girl. And for such a smart girl, do you know why i am doing this?"

Cinque bit her lip. This wasn't good. With him talking so much, she was getting distracted and unable to focus on the Word of Time. A small portion of energy wasn't released properly and lashed out, destroying a wall.

"You should focus more, Cinque. You wouldn't want anything to go wild, do you? Anyway, since you wouldn't know why i am aiming for the Word of Time, i guess i should tell you. After all, it would seem unfair if you didn't know."

Silva laughed as he danced and jumped around like a kid.

"You see, I have a certain blood in me. A bastard's blood, but nonetheless, I have Belkan King in my blood. It was within my right to inherit the legacy of the Kings! I had long heard about the legendary artefact from my parents, about how whoever held it would be seen as the true ruler of Belka! I loved the story as a kid and soon found myself wanting to know more, to find it, to own it! I became so obsessed with it that i couldn't think, I couldn't sleep! I needed to find it! And so I began my long search for the artefact.

But after I found the Word of Time, it escaped from me, running all the way to this miserable planet. It seems that it didn't recognize me as a legitimate successor. Me? A descendant of a King? So I needed to know more about the Word of Time, and hatched my plan to get the good doctor out of prison. He knew about the last King, Olivie, and should have data to replicate her presence to fool the Word of Time. But he was too wild to control.

As such I had to make sure he wouldn't use the Word of Time to fight back. That was when I heard from the doctor about you, Cinque. He used the genetic material from the descendant of the last Huterin der Zeit to create you. Not only that, but he also mixed in genetic material from THE Huterin der Zeit herself! You are not a pure clone of Seria Avenir, but a mix! A mix of Seria and Serena. Isn't that funny?"

Cinque did not find that funny. She wasn't laughing or cared for it. The majority of her genetic material came from Seria, and Serena's material only came in to ensure that Cinque's IS, rumble detonator, would be fully brought out. Serena's genetic material was taken from Einzelganger. The doctor was the one who took Einzelganger, and hid it before he was arrested. Silva simply found where the doctor hid it and gave to Cinque.

"That is why I needed to make sure that you stayed alive. Einzelganger held the key to unlocking the seal on the Word of Time that had made sure that artifact would remain as the Avenir's property. The genetic beasts were a slight problem that came with the Word of Time, so I suggested to the good doctor to make his own. I gave him the technology and he soon created quite impressive genetic beasts, as I'm sure you've seen in your little... bath battle? Ah, but the doctor still liked playing with his human dolls, so I let him. His beasts were far inferior to the original anyway. But back to this little problem."

Silva went back and placed his knife against Vivio's throat.

"There isn't need for two kings, and I don't need the last Saint King to earn the power of the Word of Time, so-"

"DON'T!"

Cinque screamed at him, but Silva merely smiled. Vivio looked at Cinque with fear and horror all over her face. She didn't want to die. Cinque didn't want her to die. But he wouldn't listen to them, not their pleas. He wasn't that sort of man. With one stroke, the knife ran across Vivio's throat. The young Takamachi dropped to the ground hard. Her cold lifeless eyes staring at Cinque. Time seemed to stop. Vivio... was dead.

"Aha ha ha ha! The Knight has failed to protect the King? Oh dear. That isn't right. Oh well. Time to get what i deserve."

Silva walked up to the large form of shining light that used to be the girl. The Word of Time had lost its previous form, being broken down into pure energy that it was once before. Raising a hand to to the light, Cinque could feel Silva absorbing the energy from the Word of Time. His presence was also flowing into the Lost Logia, corrupting and tainting it with his malice. She could feel his insanity seeping into her consciousness.

It was corrupting her mind and soon she would end up like the doctor or Tre. But she didn't want that. She wouldn't allow it. She wanted to stop this. She didn't want anyone else to die. Sette, and Vivio were never meant to die. They didn't deserve it. Power. If only she had the power. The strength to prevent all of that. More power. More than Einzelganger, more than the Huterin der Zeit. She would not accept this outcome.

_'Then I'll lend you my power.'_

A soft voice spoke out. Cinque was surprised, as was Silva, by the voice. From the bright light a glowing hand emerged, touching Cinque's eyepatch.

"Wha-!"

Cinque felt power. A strange and enormous power flowing into her. Ancient, powerful, all-knowing. The intensity flowed straight into her head, and she wanted to scream out but her voice would not come out. The pain in her right eye burned straight into her skull. And soon it all stopped. The hand disappeared back into the light, and Cinque retracted Einzelganger from the light. She fell to her knees, covering her eyepatch as her eye was starting to burn up. What just happened? What was that power?

"No... NOO! YOU! WHAT DID YOU DO?"

Silva screamed. Cinque looked up, and saw that Silva had to pull his hand away. His hand was burned and scarred. Not only that, but the ball of light had a distinctive symbol on it. The symbol of Einzelganger appeared and behind it was a giant 'V'. Cinque knew what this meant. The Word of Time rejected Silva, and chose her instead.

_'It does not matter the circumstance of your birth, be you born a noble, a soldier, a merchant, a farmer, or as a shadow. But it is what you choose to do with your life that makes you worthy to use my strength. Time does not care who you are. Time would never be controlled by mere mortals. But Time will watch over you, as it always had, Cinque Nakajima.'_

That same voice spoke out. Cinque struggled to her feet, and pulled her eye patch off. Silva, face contorted with anger, raised his pistol at her.

"CINQUE NAKAJIMA!"

He pulled the trigger, but Cinque opened her eye. The same eye she lost many years ago in a fight with Zest Grangaitz. The same eye she could never use again. But opening it revealed a new eye. The sky blue pupil focusing on the pistol in Silva's hand.

"... Zeit, Halt."

Like an energy field, everything seemed to stop. The energy shot from Silva's pistol also stopped dead a few inches right in-front of Cinque. Cinque stepped to the side, and slowly walked over to Silva, who was frozen in his place. Time had completely stopped.

"... So this is the power of the Word of Time... Indeed, it is one that doesn't have any shape or form, one that is able to force men to their knees and walls to crumble. It can never be controlled. It holds the power of all. The power of Time itself... And because it of people have fought countless wars for it, many died for it, and people go insane over it."

Cinque raised Einzelganger, pointing straight at Silva.

"... Einzelganger."

_'Ja, Der Totentaz [The Dance of Death]'_

"Zeit, Riss, Wieder Aufnehmen [Time, split, resume]"

Everything seemed to happen all so quickly. Cinque had split time, making multiple copies of herself, each positioned at a different side next to Silva. They all attacked at the same time, multiple blades cutting into Silva Vignale, making him go down quickly and without a sound. The copies of Cinque melded back into one, and finally Cinque knew it was done. It was over. She looked over to Sette and Vivio. There was still one more thing she could do with this power before she released it completely. She knelt by Vivio, placing a hand on Vivio's bloody wound.

"Zeit, Gegenteil [Time, reverse]"

The wound closed and soon life came back to Vivio''s eyes. Vivio sat up in surprise, looking about in confusion.

"A-re? Why am i on the floor? Cinque? Your eye?"

"You don't need to worry about that."

By reversing time, Vivio would not recall about her throat being slit open. Such memories would be better off without. Cinque went to Sette and did the same. Sette got up to her feet as well, slightly disoriented. Satisfied with the results, Cinque turned back to the Word of Time.

"... It's time to finally say goodbye. Thank you."

Cinque raised Einzelganger at the light, releasing the final seal off the Word of Time. Just before it disappeared, Cinque swore she saw a smile.

* * *

The entire incident was resolved quietly. Dubbed by the higher-ups as the 'Time incident', it was quietly placed into the database without anyone knowing. While Nanoha and the others were attacking the base, Yagami Hayate had launched an attack together with her Wolkenritter and her entire battalion on the soldiers of the criminal known as Silva Vignale. Fate T. Harlaown had also led an investigation and tracked down all of Silva's connections and suppliers, rounding them up quickly. Silva Vignale was buried in the cemetery close to where Due was buried. Files detailing on his life are currently being made.

The doctor, Uno, Tre and Quattro (she surrendered to Nanoha after letting Cinque go) were brought back to prison after given proper medical care. Subaru Nakajima went back to her unit of emergency response rescue unit, however she did not tell Touma Avenir anything about his bloodline as a favour from her older sister, Cinque, who said that he shouldn't be burdened with things that were no longer related to him. Ginga Nakajima went back to the 108th Battalion, and immediately went about scolding her father for being lazy in her absence. Teana Lanster went back to solve dangerous cases after finishing up the report on Silva Vignale.

Wendi, Dieci and Nove all returned to their former posts. Wendi still likes being a troublemaker, with Dieci acting more like a house wife to control her. Nove was angry at Cinque for not being honest, but quickly forgave her old sister since she couldn't stay mad for long at her. Takamachi Vivio went back to school and was excited to tell all of her friends about her adventures, but her mother made her swear never to tell anyone. Takamachi Nanoha had went back to her easy going desk-job, but plans to return to active service very soon. The little adventure she had with Cinque would serve as a very good 'warm-up' exercise.

Sette had gone off like promised, visiting different worlds to see new things, under close watch by the TSAB of course. As for Cinque Nakajima, she lost all of the powers related to the Lost Logia, putting back her eyepatch and she went back to her old cubicle at her work place. Her captain, Dino Berlinetta, had said this upon her return,

"You're late, Nakajima. Hope that little holiday didn't make you too soft in the head."

Cinque knew that she always had a place to return to, and even if her commanding officer may be slightly rude, she knew that he cared.

"So, have you gotten all of your private stuff done?"

He asked. Cinque nodded in reply.

"Yes sir."

"... Good. Oh, and Nakajima."

"Yes?"

"... Welcome back."

He said as he finally lit that cigarette that he had placed in his mouth since she first left. She smiled and saluted. She looked down at the pendant that dangled around her neck.

"Einzelganger... let's work hard together."

_'Ja.'_

* * *

As for the Lost Logia known as the Word of Time, no one really knew where it went. It was time itself, personified and manifested into a physical form. But time was never meant to be controlled by mere mortals. Being who did not truly understand time could never see it for what it truly is.

"Hai~! Coming!"

She opened the door and saw a small girl standing there with a smile.

"Hmm? Who are you?"

The girl did not answer, but simply pointed at her.

"... I... found... you... Takamachi... Nanoha..."

* * *

**_THE END_**

* * *

Omake:

FW: And so we finally reach the end

Cinque: No interesting bokke?

FW: ... do i look like a one man manzai to you? (manzai are comedy shows, usually a bokke and a tsukkomi)

Cinque: At times, yes.

FW: ... i don't have the energy to have a comeback.

Hayate: NO! You cannot! You would fail as a performer!

FW: Performer... what the hell are you talking about?

Vivio: Perform!

FW: Since when did you come in?

Ginga: Isn't this interesting- woah!

FW: Don't mess up my place! Dojikko's not allowed!

Subaru: Gin-nee! I told you not to run out before we clear the place of bananas!

FW: Seriously?

Fate: Why don't i appear often in these?

FW: Because your character is too soft spoken and bland... unless you don't mind being a raving perverted lesbian who wants to rape Nanoha at least once every hour?

Fate: ... i'll pass.

Nanoha: I heard my name?

FW: No, no one called you.

Teana: I don't get many lines.

FW: You're a tsundere Tsukkomi. Do you actually want more?

Teana: Not really.

FW: So you do want more... Tsunderes are always so contradicting in their tsun tsun phases

Teana: Who are you calling Tsundere?

Erio: I want more too!

FW: Bishounen can shut up

Carol: Hey! don't say that to Erio

FW: Peanut gallery can also shut up.

Carol: I'm not short! I grew by 1 cm!

FW: ... And you actually call that growing. Cinque, do you have anything else to add?

Cinque: Why me?

FW: Because you're the main focus of the fic

Cinque: ... I'm too old to be doing this-

FW: Ah.

Nanoha: Cinque-chaaan?

Cinque: Oops.

* * *

A/N: Well, that's the end! Thanks for reading and hoped you enjoyed it. Well, it doesn't matter if you enjoyed it. I enjoyed writing it.

By now all of you would have known that Silva Vignale is the bad guy so I can now spew out my thoughts. I had originally planned for him and Cinque to fall in love and that this last battle would be more between ideals than just a psycho and an officer. It would have made more drama and suspense, like how Cinque and Silva are reluctant to fight, but they have to because of the conflict of their ideals. But the idea of scrapped as i couldn't really write that well. The number of meetings between Silva and Cinque were too little and personally, i wouldn't let anyone, not even my own OC, touch Cinque. It is too rushed, i agree, but i couldn't really write a build up of romance within a short number of chapters.

This story IS, and i remind you again, only a prequel used to set up the story for the next one.

This sets up the plot for the sequel. But most likely I'll have to see how Nanoha Force goes... in Force, Nanoha is the only person capable of using a super large magical cannon device... really suits her. I mean really... Not sure if Vita can use it too, but well, just having Nanoha to use it more than enough in my opinion.

Okay, i apologize for letting Vivio get offed... but it was more of a motivational move than anything.

For those who like this story and can think of ways to contribute, don't hesitate to drop me a review and your suggestion. We'll meet again on the next fic!


End file.
